Cameron the Changling (Formerly Cameron Reflects)
by ReaganCaseyFan
Summary: Set after Cameron's Expedition in the Future Cameron Universe. Cameron reflects on her life and the changes she is facing. With Hailey's departure for service in TechCom, Cameron and John are emptynesters. Cameron finds herself struggling with aging and a fear of the loss of John's desire for her as she faces a major medical procedure. Jameron.
1. Chapter 1

**Cameron Reflects**

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own TSCC

This story is set in _**The Future Cameron's Universe**_ after _**Cameron's Revenge**_ and _**Cameron's Expedition.**_ It contains characters from my version of the TSCC universe starting with _**Cameron Grows Up.**_

 **Note:** You are certainly welcome to read this short story and I hope it makes sense as a standalone story. It will certainly make sense if you've read the stories leading up to it. (See those listed above).

Strolling through the city's Central Park, Cameron decided not to be irritated with her John for ordering her to take an entire day off. Sitting down on one of the many benches in the park, Cameron ran her hand along her rib cage, feeling the site of the last wound still healing.

It was taking longer for her wounds to heal, for the flesh to regenerate. To Cameron's horror and Sarah's delight, her mother-in-law found another strand of grey hair while combing out Cameron's hair two days earlier, bringing the total number found to three. Her surgery to replace her lower leg was scheduled for the coming week. Savannah had finished fabricating her replacement. The replacement contained several new features designed to prevent the types of mechanical stress that led to the replacement of her original leg.

Happy with the improvements, Cameron had let Savannah know how pleased she was with the replacement. What Cameron had not discussed with Savannah was her concern over how long it would take for her flesh to regenerate after the replacement surgery.

Watching the people of TechCom city stroll by, going about their duty, taking care of family errands or simply enjoying the park, Cameron felt a strange sense of pride. In the distance by a large pond, a family's three young children were laughing and splashing as they chased the family dog about in the water. Nearby reclining on a blanket were the parents, laughing at the antics of their offspring and dog. Moving slowly through the water, verbally chastising the dog and waving his arms in frustration with the animal was the family's T-600 protector.

Cameron smiled for a brief second at the scene, wishing John was with her. Outsiders might view the scene in alarm. John would have loved it. A happy family outing involving humans, a Terminator and a dog, all part of the same family.

Walking past the pond was the popular blonde T-800 female whose name escaped Cameron. She held hands with a member of the Airborne, a human Cameron noted, making an annotation to mention to Ruth the successful pairing of another human airborne soldier with a female Terminator, even if the metal was a blonde.

John would be pleased with Cameron's restraint she noted, making another annotation to discuss with her John that evening. She had been able to observe the attractive blonde T-800 and not sensed a need to terminate the female or establish dominance. It was rare, but Cameron noted she was experiencing the ability to not react to blonde females on occasion. Adding a third annotation, this time to thank Derek for mandating the new protocol of all blonde female personnel serving in the military to demonstrably not challenge Cameron for dominance. She wondered if the psychological relief, the concept of which amused her, of her CPU to not have to constantly run her dominance protocols and execute her threat assessment programming had granted a small amount of relief from her Riley issues.

Always in read/write mode, Cameron decided it was possible learning and creating new code could abate her Riley issues. Possible, but not likely, she was fairly certain. That bitch whore had caused Cameron too much pain and stress to completely get over the meddling girl. Deciding John's protection, their relationship and her dominance was far too important, Cameron decided she'd never allow herself to be completely rid of her Riley issues, unpleasant and troublesome as they may be.

Focusing on the blonde T-800 and her human beau, Cameron felt a twinge of jealousy. The pair was able to openly display their affection for each other, something Cameron had not been able to do with her John at various times in their past. Granted, when the pair had been away from Sarah and Derek at school their final year of school, they had been able to openly display their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. Even then, they had to take great care not to allow Cameron's true nature become known.

"Stupid blonde," Cameron muttered aloud, causing the T-800 to flinch despite the distance and quickly glance back over her shoulder at Cameron. Recognizing Cameron, the T-800 immediately glanced down at the ground and to the left, acknowledging Cameron's dominance and authority over her.

"My apologies, it's not you," Cameron said aloud, knowing the T-800 would hear her. Without raising her gaze from the ground, the T-800 nodded in acknowledgement and turned to look forward, moving closer to her human companion.

 _Like he could protect you from me,_ Cameron thought. Still, it was progress she noted. Terminators were learning to assimilate better, developing their social skills and ability to fit in to human society. Humans were adapting as well. She watched as the Airborne trooper put his arm around his metal girlfriend and cautiously glanced back at Cameron. _He can't protect her physically, but he can make her feel secure in their relationship, just like John protects me._

Taking her leave of the pleasant view in the park, Cameron made her way to the nearly completed performance hall. When finished it would be able to host ballet performances, an orchestra, musicals and theatrical productions. It would also become the city's movie theatre on occasion. John Henry, at Cameron and his mother Catherine's insistence, had modified the structure's design, requiring considerable additional excavation. Instructional and practice facilities had been added, to allow for the training and practice of current and future performers. A functional workshop had been completed to allow for the construction and storage of sets and props.

 _It will be good to have a routine that includes dance again, a chance to perform for others._ Cameron giggled to herself, making no outward signs of her amusement. _It will be fun to make Derek cry in public again._

 **That evening…**

Cameron heard John approaching their bunker nearly fifty meters before he arrived home. She hopped up from their bed and hurried to great her husband.

"Let's go."

"I've just gotten home. I'm tired."

John looked at Cameron, studying her non-expression.

"Is Hailey okay? No training accident today?"

"Hailey's fine."

"Mom? Derek? Ruth?"

"Everyone's fine, but you won't be if you don't take me out for dinner. I want pizza followed by ice cream."

"We don't have a pizzeria yet in TechCom," a puzzled John announced. "Nor an ice cream parlor."

"Better have them added to the master plan then," Cameron quipped, putting her hands on her hips while tilting her head, and not in an inquisitive manner.

"Hold on," a suddenly concerned John said, trying to by himself time. "I don't process as quickly as you do."

Cameron remained silent, glaring at John without moving.

John glanced down to start his examination for clues. Noting Cameron had on a new pair of boots tipped him off she was up to something. New, tight blue jeans with a greyish crop top covered by a thin purple cotton blouse Cameron had left unbuttoned, exposing nearly an inch of her bare abdomen.

A glance at her hands indicated he was in trouble if he didn't come to the correct conclusion and quickly. Cameron was wearing her wedding band and engagement ring with its huge purple diamond. Dangling from her ears were the purple amethyst earrings he'd given his wife before they married. To make his situation more precarious, Cameron's hair was styled to look thick with body and a slight curl. Make up drew his eyes to Cameron's lips first and then to her eyes. Clearly, she expected something.

"Yep," John muttered softly. "I'm a goner."

"No, you are not," Cameron informed him. "You will be if your wife doesn't have a romantic evening like she wants though."

"I'm really tired. Let's do this Friday after duty."

"Give me your tablet," Cameron ordered, snatching the device from John's grasp. "I bet you have a new duty rotation, heavy on blonde female personnel now that I'm on medical leave."

"Whoa, no such thing Cameron," a panicked John blurted, grabbing his tablet back. He gave her a firm look as he sat down his tablet on the family's dining table.

"I'll need to change," he mumbled, knowing Cameron was not going to give in.

"You look fine in your uniform," she announced, slipping her arm around his. "I want to be seen in public with my General." Cameron stood on her toes and kissed John on his cheek.

"Let's go. The Old Man is off for the evening and Sarah and Derek have all the dogs."

"You've thought of everything, I see," John stated, frowning in displeasure.

"Yes. You can relax. Cook will have the pizza waiting when we arrive. He's even made a large batch of homemade ice cream."

 **Much later that evening…**

Cameron watched her John as he slept peacefully. His vitals were normal and he gave no indication the nightmares would trouble him that night. Pressing her bare skin even closer as Cameron ran her hands over her husband's scarred chest, she let the influx of data her sensors collected flow over her.

It had been a pleasant evening. Cameron had made certain nobody approached them while they had spent their evening "out on the town." Rather the Old Man had once again proved he was the best watcher/protector in the city after Cameron. The old T-600 had headed off every possible disruption to their evening, human, metal or canine.

Watching her John sleep peacefully, Cameron reviewed her favorite "courting" memories in her files. Working her way through the many stored memories, it saddened Cameron to realize she and John had never been able to have what most before Judgment Day would consider a normal courtship.

Even when circumstances changed and they were able to openly carry on their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, the need to hide Cameron's true nature combined with her struggle to learn to control her emotions all the while trying to appear to be a completely normal teenage girl had limited their ability to develop a normal relationship.

Skynet had not helped matters either Cameron mused. The constant need to be ever vigilant in her duty as John's protector limited the amount of focus she could place on learning how to have a relationship, even with her ability to multi-task. Constantly having to deal with the fight against Skynet and the A.I.'s allies had also put a damper on "dating."

Putting away her memory files, Cameron realized another issue that had hampered her ability to properly pursue John and to be properly pursued was the presence and interference of both Sarah and Derek. Cameron understood far better now what Sarah and Derek had done to limit her initial access to John and later to restrict their growing relationship had been done out of concern for John and a perfectly rational fear of what she was.

As Cameron considered the closeness their dysfunctional family had developed, in large part through her efforts and manipulation, she felt old resentments bubble up to the surface in the form of particularly painful memory files.

John stirred, causing Cameron to shut down all memory files to focus on her husband. She smiled in the dark as John's hands became a little too familiar as he slept. Rolling over on her left side, Cameron waited to see if her John would follow suit. Within seconds John did the same while reaching around Cameron's slender waist with his right arm and snuggly pulling her close to him.

Things had changed in so many ways since Cameron focused her optical sensors on her John for the first time at the rural high school where they met. Cameron viewed the video file of their first awkward exchanges and in doing so realized how much fun it would have been if she had actually been able to feel the emotions her infiltration program was displaying as she worked to get close to her John.

Holding her husband's right hand with her own, Cameron leaned back against John's chest and considered their lives now that a second Skynet had been terminated, Hailey was in the military as was Ruth. Having been forced from her command of the Silver Brigade and active combat status, Cameron realized how much time had been given back to her.

She'd planned to fill it by restarting her dancing career and supervising John even more closely than before. Sarah required a bit more attention as she aged and the addition of the duty of clan matriarch was time consuming as well.

Despite the changes, all of which Cameron had adjusted to and accepted, even the loss of her combat status (which she knew was really just a formality, nothing would ever stop her from fighting to defend her John and her family), she felt a void within herself.

Unwilling to discuss this feeling with John, Cameron had broached the subject with Sarah. Sarah's response had been to laugh at Cameron. To Cameron's surprise, Sarah and Derek were enjoying having an empty bunker even though they missed Ruth's presence. The arrival of the first grandchild would fill the void or so Sarah had promised.

 _Hailey's having too much fun playing the field. I won't be a grandmother anytime soon._

Imagining her daughter's behavior with members of the opposite sex, Cameron was all too well aware her baby girl was a flirt, a flirt who liked to be pursued as much as she liked males themselves.

To her surprise, Cameron's emotion simulator began generating feelings of envy towards Hailey. It didn't take long before Ruth and her beau Lt. Dan were added to the list. Savannah and her new flame, Captain Jones of Airbase S-14 suddenly generated feelings of envy. The image of the blonde T-800 holding hands with her human boyfriend proved to be too much. Cameron shut all of the files and sat up in bed, startling John enough to wake him.

"What's wrong," a sleepy John mumbled.

"Nothing," Cameron monotoned.

"Right, nothing," John replied, releasing his firm grip around Cameron's waist and rolling back on his back. Within seconds he was asleep again.

"We will discuss this tomorrow when you are alert John," Cameron whispered as she settled back down next to her husband. Pulling the blankets back over them, Cameron scanned his vitals for a final time, storing the data as she shut down her systems in order to enter her mandated period of maintenance she referred to as Terminator Sleep.

 **Late the next morning…**

Slowly John stretched his leg towards Cameron's side of the bed, checking to see if she was up and about. His toes failing to come in contact with anything other than cold sheets, John moved over to the middle of the bed, luxuriating in having their bed all to himself. Sniffing the air to see what Cameron had cooked for breakfast, John sat up in with a mild sense of alarm. No smells of Cameron's delightfully cooked breakfasts were wafting about in the air.

Pulling on a pair of shorts, John quickly hurried out to the family's eating area where he found Cameron sitting reading from a tablet. A quick glance told him Cameron had not gotten dressed for the day or done much of anything. Wearing only a pair of cotton shorts and a skimpy top, she sat ignoring John, reading something of interest on her tablet.

"What time is it?"

"O848. You slept in late."

John scowled at Cameron, failing to attract her attention.

"No breakfast?"

"Cook is taking today off. It's Saturday."

"You always cook a really nice breakfast on Saturday," John protested. "I look forward to it all week."

Cameron just shrugged indifferently in response, continuing to read from her tablet.

"Ruth has done some really nice designs for the sets for our first performance," Cameron announced, deliberately changing the subject.

"I'm hungry," John reminded Cameron.

"I'm not," was her emotionless reply. "You know how to cook. Fix yourself something if you're that hungry."

Feeling more irritated with each passing second, John forgot for a moment who and what he was dealing with and pressed the issue.

"I'm hungry Cameron. Fix me something to eat," he protested.

"No," was her simple reply.

"What?"

"You take me for granted. I want to be made to feel special."

Confused, John shook his head, surprised by Cameron's defiance.

"You aren't going to feed me a carefully prepared meal, giving you the opportunity to monitor my exact food intake?"

"No."

"Normally, I would be happy about getting a little more freedom from your, how shall I put it Cameron, restrictive care policies. But I'm hungry. Please, cook me something."

"No."

"What has gotten into you?"

"You take me for granted," Cameron repeated. "I want to be courted. I want you to put in the effort required to win me, just like a new couple."

"We're married Cameron. We have a daughter," John stated bluntly.

"I am well aware of both of these facts. It does not change the fact you take me for granted. Nor does it lessen my desire to be courted and won."

"Courted? Won? We're married Cameron," an incredulous John growled.

"I never was courted properly. It wasn't entirely your fault John. So many things were against us. But now, we live in a society that will accept our relationship. We don't have to fight Sarah and Derek to be together. I want to be courted. Properly. Openly."

"Cameron, this is silly," John complained.

"No it's not. You take me for granted. I take care of you and protect you. I'm your Sexbot. I know you are faithful and protect our relationship, but you take me for granted John. A little attention and romance would go a long way."

Cameron stood up and walked into their bedroom, ignoring the look of anger on John's face. Following his wife into their bedroom to give Cameron a piece of his mind, John found a naked Cameron who fixed him with her best Terminator Death Glare.

"Take a good look John," Cameron ordered. "It's the last one you'll get until you court me and make me feel special, like a girlfriend or wife should feel." Cameron grabbed her clothes for the day and brushed past John to take a shower and get dressed. Her glare had changed to her best pout and she made certain John got a good look at her expression.

"Hope you enjoyed the view John," Cameron called as she entered the bathroom.

 **TechCom Command Central…**

"Thanks John. You couldn't just take one for the team?"

Looking up, John looked directly into the annoyed expression Derek wore on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"The TEAM? You know, all the other married men in TechCom? What? You didn't think Tin Miss wouldn't go running to Sarah the first chance she got? Do I really have to tell you Sarah was going to take Cameron's side? That I was going to get an earful about the same topic from Sarah?"

"Great, just great," John sighed in frustration.

"Yeah. Great. Tin Miss is mounting a mass campaign I'll have you know. If you'd just gone along with her from the get go there would have been no collateral damage."

"Well, she's lost her CPU this time. We're married. Why should I "court her" now?"

"Because it's what she wants? She's a Terminator John, a fact I'm sure you haven't forgotten. She's not a normal stubborn female. This is a war you cannot win. Cameron will not relent. You will never be able to reason with her about this and until you give in and court her, she's just going to broaden the battlefield, causing more casualties!"

Growing annoyed with his Uncle, John looked down at the maps on his desk. "What do you care? My fight."

"I've already had to go beg Cook for a nice dinner just for Sarah and me tonight. Then I have to take her for a walk in Central Park. I'll have you know, Cameron just left John Henry's office. Do you know what they were talking about? Expanding the cafeteria to include areas for a nice restaurant style sitting area, a pizzeria area and an ice cream parlor. John Henry had the sense to immediately establish an engineering and design team to handle it."

"I didn't approve those changes to our facilities," John growled.

"John Henry had the sense to by pass procedure and agree with Cameron and HE'S SINGLE John!"

"So you have to take Mom out for dinner," John responded.

"John, now we have to come up with procedures to earn a meal at the new facilities. You do realize this is going to cut into poker time?"

Derek stormed out of John's office allowing the door to slam behind him.

 **Days Later – TechCom PreOp…**

"You ready to get this over with?"

"Yes."

"John still being unreasonable?"

"Yes."

"Cameron, men are stupid and stubborn sometimes."

"I agree."

"Human or metal."

"Of course."

Savannah sighed as she finished her examination of Cameron.

"He is prideful. That's making it harder for him. Can you find a way to toss him a bone so to speak? Let him back down and give in while keeping his male pride?"

"No. Just because we're married is no reason for me not to be romanced. I never got to really experience that before Judgment Day. I do not hold that against my John. Now that things have changed, I want my husband to court me."

Savannah gave no indication outwardly about how she felt about the feud between the two most prominent citizens of TechCom. Nor did she feel like she could comment. She certainly enjoyed the attentions of the new liaison officer for Airbase S-14, Captain Jones.

"Tomorrow night, Wilhelm is taking Matt to the poker game with him. You know, to let him meet the other male leaders of TechCom. Male bonding, that sort of thing. Want to have a girl's night? Drag Mary and Grace along?"

Cameron shrugged, indicating indifference.

"You'll be up to it. I'll push you around in a wheelchair myself."

"I want my John to baby me while I recover," Cameron stated with an unusual degree of stubbornness for her or any other Terminator.

"Well, I tell you what. I'll talk to Mary and Grace after duty and we'll plan on a girl's night. Then I'll have a little chat with your John. How does that sound?"

Cameron pouted in silence as she processed Savannah's offer.

"He is being unduly stubborn. Derek has already gotten in several arguments about it with him and now Derek and Sarah are feuding as well."

Watching her some times difficult friend process, Savannah felt a desire to help both of the Connors. Cameron was not being unreasonable in wanting some special romantic attention. That much Savannah agreed with. John on the other hand was being stubborn and prideful. The problem as Savannah saw it, John had no clue how to go about dating his own wife in the world they lived in. Truth be told, Cameron probably couldn't exactly explain to John herself what it was she wanted from him.

The resulting mess between TechCom's most prominent married couple was causing people to take sides in the couples tiff. Naturally, the males sided with the General and the females sided with Cameron with the result being increasing tension between the genders, human and metal. Telling this to Cameron would not change how she felt. Savannah was certain of that.

She'd have to find a way to talk some sense into John. That and figure out a way for him to wiggle off the hook he'd gotten so publically caught on.

Taking a scalpel from the medical supplies, Savannah patted the gurney in the room. Cameron, dressed only in a paper gown frowned before climbing up and lying down on the gurney.

"Let's get this over with. I'll make the smallest incision possible so it will heal quickly."

"I can put myself in standby," Cameron complained.

"Yes, and you can also wake yourself right up. I'm not going to have that happen. This is going to take me most of the day to replace your leg and I have no intention of you making a mess of your leg replacement because you decided to wake up. Doctor's orders."

Cameron frowned before resuming her blank expression.

"It causes me anxiety to have my chip touched by anyone. I am fearful of it being damaged."

Savannah smiled as she looked down at Cameron. "I know, and I will be extra careful. Your chip will not be removed, simply disengaged. You aren't going to go bad. You will be okay. As soon as I wake you up, make sure you run all of your self-diagnostic tests. If it would help, why don't you set your programs to do that right now? I can wait."

A twitch shook Cameron's face as she blinked both eyes once.

"I have done as you suggested."

Glancing down at her patient's left hand, Savannah noticed the glitch had started.

"You're going to be fine. You tissue will regenerate and you're not going to have any scars. Once John gets over being bullheaded, he's going to want to be intimate with you again. It will be okay, I promise Cameron."

Cameron nodded once without speaking.

Savannah made the incision in Cameron's scalp and disengaged her chip, shutting her friend down for the surgery.

 **TechCom Central Command…**

"Enter."

John looked up from his maps to rub away the beginnings of a stress headache as he waited to see who planned to enter his office and add to the day's stress. The door opened, giving him a glimpse of flaming red hair.

"Savannah?" he called, looking back down at his maps.

"It would help if you would use these," Savannah replied, pulling John's glasses from the top of his head and holding them out for him to take. John pulled them quickly from Savannah's extended hand and sat down, a gruff expression on his face.

"Is Cameron awake yet?"

"I haven't rebooted her yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"Everything went okay? No problems?" John asked quickly, noticing a large bundle wrapped in a white sheet in Savannah's arms.

"May I take a seat?"

""Yes, I'm sorry. I haven't been myself lately."

"Even more thoughtless than usual? Even for you General?"

"I see. You've taken her side then."

Savannah sighed. "It's not like you to have not come with Cameron for her surgery. She didn't say anything, but it upset her."

John sat in silence for a moment before responding. "Who do you know she was upset?"

"She was worried about having her chip disengaged. Cameron feared she would go bad again during the reboot."

"I'm not worried about that," John replied with a small degree of uncertainty.

"I know you aren't. But that often is how Cameron's insecurity manifests itself. Concern for you or her doing something to you."

Savannah watched as John fidgeted, playing with his maps in silence, adjusting them and moving them about.

"You need to give in and do what she wants."

"No. It's entirely unreasonable. We're married. I stood up to Mom and Derek, which was no easy thing to do. I dealt with all kinds of craziness so Cameron and I could build the relationship we have. Now she wants to start over? No. It's unreasonable and I won't do it. I won't give in."

"John, that's not what she wants."

"Oh, I see. I can take it you know what she wants?"

"To feel like you still see her as that girl you fell for. That you would marry her again. She's not getting younger John. We have no idea how Terminators will deal with the aging process. I do know she's concerned about her regeneration process not working as quickly as it used to. Sarah found a third grey hair as well. This could be manifestation of a sort of Terminator mid-life crisis."

John stared at Savannah for a moment.

"She's a stunning beauty Savannah. Cameron's the same knockout today that she was the first time I saw her. On the other hand, I'm scarred, showing signs of going grey. I'm so stiff in the mornings some days I think arthritis is already setting in. Stress is the only thing keeping me from getting fat. If she was human, I'd have real concerns about Cameron dumping me for a better looking, younger officer."

"John, Cameron may not feel like she's the same "looker" she was when she was built. Her regeneration process is slowing. In fact, that's part of why I'm here."

"Not just to stir the pot in the war of the sexes?"

"John, I'm going to ignore that," Savannah said firmly, frowning at John. "You and Cameron have started a lot of conflict between husband and wife as well as boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Excuse me?"

"Mom and Wilhelm have been at it. Mom has sided with Cameron and poor Wilhelm is clueless as usual. Your parents have been at it. Father Hidalgo tells me he's had to counsel more than a few couples, particularly hybrid couples. They see the two of you as role models that their relationship can be made to work. When they see the two of you openly feuding, it causes issues. It's not fair, but there it is."

"Savannah, I think you're reading a little too much into this. Cameron will come to her senses."

"For the record John, I'm on Cameron's side. Your stubborn pride is getting the better of you. Court her John. She needs to feel pretty and desirable."

"Savannah, Cameron's metal. She's not particularly vain."

"Really now. I've seen the underwear she has. There are only two types in her unmentionables drawer. Very practical and seduction wear. I also know she likes seducing you."

"How…" a flustered John muttered.

"Girl talk. And don't kid yourself. Terminators are vain. Just in different ways than humans. They learn in different ways and with different learning curves. They're vain about different things. Trust me, I spend enough time listening to their complaints."

Savannah gave John a moment to digest what she'd told him.

"I altered the plan for the surgery. When I removed her original lower leg, I left as much of the original flesh sheath as possible. By the way, everything went well John."

John blinked several times; embarrassed for not asking how Cameron's surgery had gone.

"Cameron currently has an incision that runs from just above her kneecap all the way down the midline of her shin and the top of her foot. I had to remove all the tissue from the ball of her foot forward. She will only have to regenerate the flesh over her toes and surrounding area. If this is successful, it will change how we operate, at least on our older model Terminators."

Swallowing before he spoke, John softly said, "thank you for taking such good care of Cameron. I truly appreciate it and I'm sure she will as well."

"Now, just because I like you, General, and I'm so close to Cameron, I'm going to help you swallow your pride and make nice with your wife."

"Okay, I'll bite. How are you going to help me?"

Savannah sat the bundle she held on John's desk and began carefully unwrapping it.

"What is that," John asked.

"Cameron's original leg."

"Uh, is there a reason for showing me this," John asked with a degree of uncertainty.

A quick scowl from Savannah silence John.

"Yes. There is. Cameron was a very rare Terminator. So much so Skynet's ego got the better of him. Let's face it John, our little Tin Miss is a masterpiece."

"I'll agree to that. Why is her old leg interesting?"

"It has her built date inscribed in it! Evidently, Skynet thought she was special enough to engrave it on the inside of her fibula, right below the kneecap. Look, right here."

John slipped on his glasses and squinted, straining to read the engraving Savannah pointed to.

"Sure enough. It's her built date," John said aloud.

"And the good thing is its only three days from today! You can through your beautiful wife a surprise built day party and invite all of her friends. Kill a lot of birds with one stone," Savannah said encouragingly.

John sat in silence for several minutes, thinking.

"Cameron doesn't know her built date and she has never wanted to really dig that deep in her files to find out. Brings up bad memories, Skynet, Allison, all that sort of stuff. This would be a way for me to do something really nice for her without having to really back down. I think you're right Savannah. A built day party it is."

Frowning still at John, Savannah spoke her mind. "John, treat her special! Oh, and do not, repeat do not, reveal the year of her construction. Cameron's old enough for that to be an issue."

"What? Savannah, Cameron's metal, the year she was built won't be an issue like it would be for, oh say, my Mom."

"She's female John. Do NOT reveal the year she was built. I promise you, you'll wind up in a brand new doghouse."

"All right. Message received."

"I took the liberty of having Mom and Sarah plan her surprise party. It's going to be in the Cafeteria. Then we're having a special showing of her two favorite classic movies in Central Park. _**The Maltese Falcon**_ and _**Casablanca**_. You will need to decide on the gift you plan to give her."

John opened his mouth to complain, thought better of it, and closed his mouth. Savannah could see she'd gotten through to the stubborn General.

"Come on, John. It'll be fun for everyone and good for TechCom. Besides, Catherine knows how to throw a party. It's right up my mom's snooty alley."

"You're right. Uh, what should I get Cameron?"

"I've already talked to John Henry. He'll have the gift ready for you to examine tomorrow. Cameron will love it."

Savannah wrapped up Cameron's original leg quickly and stood to go.

"Savannah."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. Cameron's just so, I don't know. She is so hard for me to deal with sometimes."

Savannah smiled at John and laughed. "I know exactly what you mean. But she's your wife and you need to listen to her when she goes through spells like this. Just because you think Cameron is so tough and formidable doesn't mean she doesn't have a sensitive female side. She's lived long enough and developed so much as a person. Not to mention, we don't know how Terminators are doing to deal with aging. I doubt Skynet ever meant for Cameron to exist this long, or any of the other Terminators for that matter."

John simply nodded, acknowledging he had heard Savannah.

Leaning over John, Savannah gave him a friendly nudge. "Besides, a little romance means the Sexbot is much more likely to pay her General a visit."

Laughing at John's embarrassed expression, Savannah waived over her shoulder as she departed.

 **TechCom Medical Complex – Recovery…**

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Go ahead Savannah."

John held Cameron's hand firmly.

Savannah reinstalled Cameron's ship and began suturing the small incision in her scalp. In just over 60 seconds Cameron's eyes opened. Her body gave a small jerk. John squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss Cameron on her nose.

"You look beautiful," John whispered.

"Wait," Cameron warned. A puzzled look came across John's face as he watched Cameron's eyes quiver for a few seconds before she sighed.

"I'm okay John. I'm not bad. I ran all of my tests. I canceled the Termination order. I'm not bad John."

"It's okay Cameron. I knew you'd be fine," John said gently. "Savannah did a nice job on your new leg. I'm going to let her explain everything to you, but your leg looks great."

Savannah and John both watched as the mention of her leg caused Cameron to tilt her head.

"I can feel sensation like I still have my flesh," Cameron said with a confused tone.

"You do and I'm glad you so easily detected your sensor readings," Savannah said.

"You were able to save my synthetic flesh?"

"Most of it. You'll have to regenerate the end of your foot and toes and you have a huge incision the length of your leg that has to heal, but you don't have to regenerate an entire leg's worth."

Cameron looked up at John with her blank expression. For just a brief second John saw a glimmer of worry on his wife's face.

"Yes, well. Time to go home and be babied for a few days. I've taken leave, sort of. I'll be working from home a bit while I make sure you're okay."

John and Cameron both looked at Savannah quickly for reassurance. The redhead smiled broadly for the pair and proceeded to lecture Cameron about what her limitations were for the next few days.

 **The Connor Family Bunker – Three Days Later…**

"You look fine Cameron. Seriously. I made reservations with Cook for us to have pizza. We have to go if we're going to get there in time," John implored.

Cameron frowned at him before lowering herself into her wheelchair, a restriction she grew to resent more with each passing hour.

"My incision is almost completely healed," she groused.

"Savannah was explicit in her instructions. No walking about until she's certain the incision is not going to scar. For once, please, be cooperative," John commanded.

"Connor females are noted for their lack of cooperation," Cameron grumbled as John began pushing her towards the bunker's door. John smiled in relief to hear Cameron refer to herself still as a Connor female.

"Well, the way you've been acting the last few days, Mom would be proud," John complained, hoping to get a reaction from Cameron. She ignored him and rode in silence as John wheeled her through the corridors to the Cafeteria.

John pushed Cameron in and headed towards the area sealed off for new construction.

"John Henry's engineers are going to enlarge the eating area. Cook's not happy about it but we need additional seating capacity."

He watched as Cameron stared with clear focus at the curtains hanging up to block the view of the new construction area.

"Why are lead lined curtains from the Medical Center being used?"

"I don't know Cameron. Have to ask John Henry that when you get a chance. Let's see what the mess looks like."

John wheeled Cameron over and stopped, clearing his throat loudly before he pulled back one of the curtains.

Ever curious, Cameron leaned forward to peek as John pulled the curtains aside. She sat back quickly in surprise.

"Happy Built Day Cameron!"

A momentary look of shock crossed Cameron's face before her blank expression returned. Gathered in the area were all of the Connor and Reese Clan, friends and close associates. Decorations covered the entire area and the pleasant aroma of pizza and other Italian dishes filled the air. Cameron clutched John's hand with her own and looked at him.

"It's your Built Day! We wanted to surprise you."

"But, nobody knows my Built Day," Cameron responded, her head tilted in confusion.

John leaned over and whispered in his wife's ear, "Skynet seemed to have believed you were his masterpiece. He inscribed your built day on the fibula of your original leg. Savannah found it post-surgery."

Cameron looked up at her husband hopefully, tugging his hand to get him to lean over so she could talk to him and not be heard. "Are you sure?"

"Savannah showed me herself. I even know the year you were assembled."

"Don't you dare tell anyone other than me," Cameron warned. "I'm serious. Especially Derek."

John laughed at his wife and kissed her nose.

"I'm serious John Connor. General or not, I'll never forgive you if Derek knows how many years old I am."

"Are you threatening your commanding officer?" John teased. "You may have to be disciplined for that when we return to the bunker Commander Connor."

"Sexbot is not playing if Derek knows exactly how old she is," Cameron hissed through clinched teeth.

"It looks like the Commander has confessed and will be disciplined after her court martial in the General's bunker," John whispered with a smile.

"Maybe," Cameron said in her monotone. "Sexbot is not sure she wants to play with a husband who won't court her and make her feel like she is still special. Like before Judgment Day."

"Cameron, I would marry you again. Today. Tonight. Now, a lot of people, Catherine in particular worked hard to make this a special occasion for you. Let's have fun."

 **The Connor Family Bunker That Evening…**

Cameron wiggled her new toes as she lay in bed. Running her fingers over the long incision on her shin, she noted the skin was smoother and the wound was healing quicker than she had hoped. John had been gentle when he undressed Cameron. Without a word, he'd helped her put on her extra-large sized t-shirt she used to let John know she was not in the mood. He'd helped her into their bed and vanished without a word.

Cameron had tracked John by sound to their kitchen minutes earlier. Sounds emanated from the kitchen continuously, indicating John was still moving about looking for something.

"Please don't mess up my kitchen," Cameron monotoned loudly so John would hear her.

"I'm looking for something. Just be patient."

The noise stopped and in seconds John appeared in the doorway to their bedroom.

"Found it," he said triumphantly. "Hailey didn't hide it exactly where I told her to."

"Hide what," Cameron said suspiciously while tilting her head.

"Your surprise," John replied with a big smile.

"I have mixed feelings about surprises," Cameron said, frowning slightly.

"I think you'll like this surprise, just like all the other surprises so far tonight."

John held out a box wrapped in faded purple paper.

"No scanning it. You have to open it like a human. That's the proper way to open a surprise present," he ordered.

Cameron took the box and shook it. "I can shake it," she stated.

"Of course you can."

Holding the box to her nose, Cameron sniffed it. Revealing no additional clues, Cameron considered touching her tongue to the wrapping, but decided against it.

"I should be allowed to can it," she complained.

"Against the rules," John replied firmly.

Carefully she removed the wrapping to reveal a wood box. Cameron shot a suspicious glance at John before opening the box. John watched Cameron's face, hoping she would react.

Cameron looked up quickly at her husband and then back at the contents of the box. Carefully she removed the contents and began examining them. John watched happily as Cameron's Terminator personality kicked in as he had hoped. She examined the gift for a full ten minutes before speaking.

"They are not Russian, but they are excellent approximations. They will fit perfectly. Did John Henry or one of his craftsmen make them?"

"John Henry himself."

"Thank you," Cameron whispered. "They are beautiful."

"I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I can't. It was either Savannah's idea or Catherine's. Of course, only John Henry could make them. Everyone wants to see you wear them when it's time."

A single tear ran down Cameron's cheek.

"They are beautiful pointe shoes."

"For a beautiful dancer," John whispered. "I know you go through these things like I do water. I remember you had an allowance to pay for them when you danced for the ballet company. John Henry made more than one pair and he's working out how to train a craftsman so we will have a sufficient supply when rehearsal starts."

Cameron returned her new ballet slippers to the box, setting if carefully on her bedside table. To John's surprise she pulled her oversized t-shirt off, wadded it up and threw it against the room's light switch, casting the room in sudden darkness.

"Cameron, you okay," John asked in alarm.

"Yes," she replied tearfully.

"What did you do that for then?"

"I only sleep in that when I want you to know Sexbot is not coming to play and I don't want to fight with you about it."

"I know," John said quickly. "That's why I got if for you to sleep in tonight."

Reaching out quickly, Cameron grabbed John's shirt and pulled him towards her, using her strength to toss him gently over her onto his side of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

John felt Cameron's hands push him down on his back. Her lips pressed against his passionately. Gently, John pushed Cameron with enough force to separate her lips from his.

"Cameron, are you okay?"

"Yes," was the happy reply.

"I wasn't trying to pressure you into playing Sexbot. You have to let your incision heal."

"You were being nice. I know. I do appreciate the thoughtful act on your part."

"You're worrying me Cameron."

"You have nothing to worry about," Cameron replied mischievously. "Nothing harmful that is."

"Stop. Seriously. Explain. You're going to injure your incision."

John felt Cameron distribute her body weight evenly so he would be comfortable while she lay on top of him. He could feel her bare Coltan toes rubbing against his shin.

"You made me feel pretty."

"I'm confused now," John admitted. "You're going to have to explain."

"You were thoughtful. You carefully helped me in bed. Selecting the nightshirt you did made me feel unpressured, comfortable. You reminded me I am a ballerina, not just a Terminator. I feel pretty. I know my husband still wants me."

Confused, John gently traced the steel protrusions of Cameron's spine with his fingertips, allowing her to enjoy the sensation.

"You can just relax. It's your built day. Your special day."

"John, this isn't your Sexbot talking to you. It's your wife."

"Oh."

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light of their room, John could see the faint smile on his wife's face that passed for what would be a broad display of happiness for most humans.

"I'm sorry about being a jerk. You deserve to be courted. Made to feel special."

"Of course I do," Cameron answered, still grinning. "You're forgiven," she whispered before gently biting John's bottom lip.

 **TechCom Central Park…**

As had become her habit, Cameron sat on her now favorite bench, watching the large, manufactured indoor pond that was a common focal point for visitors the city's park. Sitting with her toes exposed, Cameron noted only the ends of her new toes needed to regenerate their flesh covering and new toenails needed to form.

Wishing for a cool breeze to blow, something she noted John Henry needed to take care of, Cameron extended her legs from under the bench, exposing the nasty looking incision on her shin. She had taken to wearing short denim skirts reminiscent of her years as a high school student in order to expose the healing wound to the air as much as possible at the advice of Savannah.

Gone was the angry red scar that had run from above her kneecap down the center of her shin through the middle of her foot. A faint pink scar had taken its place, delighting Savannah and Cameron both that she still healed without leaving scars, or so it seemed. The regenerated flesh on her toes was a mix of red and pink skin, leaning more towards a bright pink now as the healing process was nearing its end.

It had been eight days since her surprise Built Day party and the wonderful private time she had spent alone with her John in their bunker.

Rehearsals were scheduled to begin in a month for the Black Swan, a ballet Cameron had never danced. Mary and Grace were delighted. John had been grousing Catherine was a bit distracted when on duty due to the attention she paid to the production process. Cameron had responded it was not possible for Catherine to be distracted. She was simply multi-tasking.

The issue worried Cameron. She knew she was aging and so was Catherine. In the past her toes would already have healed completely and her toenails would be nearly ready to apply nail polish to. Savannah's new surgical technique had spared her the more lengthy process of regenerating and entire limb's worth of tissue.

John had been more attentive at home and equally insistent Cameron develop the training schedule that was going to allow her more time to engage in non-military activity. Sarah was under similar orders as well. The pair had been scheming to find a way for Ruth to be promoted quickly so Sarah could step away from the Infiltrators and know Ruth would be able to take command in a relatively short period of time.

Cameron smiled at the thought of her and Sarah scheming together as her John and Sarah's Derek referred to their now daily lunch meetings. Sarah was showing signs of slowing down physically but not mentally and it worried Cameron. Despite knowing Sarah was human, Cameron realized she had somehow written code that depicted Sarah as being reasonably indestructible for a human. It was wrong to have done so.

After the latest round of emotional trauma with John, Cameron looked back on the countless changes in their lives. Sarah had looked particularly tired today at lunch. Lines around her eyes were now noticeable despite Sarah's acquired skill of hiding her age with subtle makeup.

It had been Sarah's idea for them to start meeting for lunch on a daily basis.

"It'll make John and Derek suspicious which is a good thing. Keep them on their toes wondering what we're up to."

The suggestion had pleased Cameron. John's newfound attentiveness was fun for both of them and Sarah had given Cameron several excellent tips on flirting with John. Replaying the conversation reminded Cameron how much things had changed.

"Why didn't you teach me this when John and I were dating," Cameron had asked.

Sarah's response had been to give Cameron a knowing look.

"Yeah, I was the enemy back then. I don't always run those memory files. I guess you could say I forget how things were sometimes."

"Well, you aren't now, that's the main thing. I have so much left to teach you so I can be certain you can manage and the clan and family will thrive. Not that you don't do a good job now because you do."

It was not until Sarah had left and Cameron had taken the short walk to her bench that her processor reached the conclusion Sarah was concerned about mortality as a result of the aging process. In the past her fear of death had centered around Terminators controlled by Skynet or contracting cancer.

Doctor Johnson had allayed Cameron's fears by confirming Sarah was in excellent health, far better than average for a human female her age, especially considering the number of times she had been seriously wounded. Sarah was simply beginning to show signs of aging.

Life had moved quickly Cameron realized. A concept she found difficult to grasp given she measured time with her internal chronometer without error.

She'd been built, programmed, killed Allison, captured, reprogrammed, sent back in time by Future John to protect her John. She'd saved both her John and Sarah from Cromatie, sent the trio of them forward in time, and protected John while they went to school and eventually married. She'd stood by his side since Judgment Day, adopted and raised Hailey and witnessed two Skynet Death's by her own hand.

Now she sat in the park of the city her John had envisioned before Judgment Day, built by the hands of both humans and Terminators. Her relationship with her John had once been forbidden and now, while not great in number, hybrid couples now openly dated. Families with children had aged T-600s to help with the child rearing process.

Agent Ellison had been complaining to her earlier in the week that something had to be done about writing and uploading protocols about appropriate interaction between the T-600s when it came to their charges. Like human parents, several of the T-600s had become competitive with other T-600s about the accomplishments of the children they protected.

"I can't assign M.P.s to the school during dismissal time Cameron. One is it. I shouldn't have to assign any given the fact T-600s bring and pick up the students. But I can't have Terminators, even old, T-600s who are no longer on active combat status getting in fights with each other. They pose a public hazard Cameron."

She had agreed and promised something would be done. Cameron had a good laugh in private when the Old Man had simply ignored her when she mentioned it to him. She and John both knew the Old Man was guilty of believing both Hailey and Ruth were superior to all the other TechCom young adults of similar age. For machines who had been designed not to feel emotion, so many of Skynet's creations had deviated from their baseline programming it was driving Savannah and the other's who treated the Terminators nuts trying to understand how the metal population of TechCom was evolving.

Cameron still did not consider herself human and still had no desire to become human. Watching a young mother let her two sons splash in the water of the pond, Cameron realized she had become a nearly fully actualized person. Not human, metal, a cyborg made of Coltan steel, human flesh and blood and a collection of other components. She'd learned, developed and grown.

Thinking of the close relationship between Hailey and Ruth, Cameron realized how humanlike Ruth was in comparison to Cameron. New immigrants upon meeting the two young women had to be told Ruth was a T-1000. The few newly manufactured T-800s had far better infiltration skills and social skills than Cameron possessed until she had been married to John for several years.

Ruth had been pestering Savannah about the idea Savannah advanced of Ruth carrying a T-1000 child as if she were pregnant. The leadership council had decided with the dramatically expanded territory after the victory over Skynet Northwest that the military had to have more T-1000s.

Catherine was no longer on combat status, leaving only Ruth. With the supply of Model 4 matrix on hand, and Ruth's apparently immanent engagement, the topic had been cropping up repeatedly.

Catherine, Ruth and Savannah all felt many of the issues surrounding the dangers inherent in T-1000s could be alleviated by having Ruth "carry" her child for a period of time. The process of separating child from mother would be the birthing process for a T-1000.

Savannah argued to the horror of Sarah and Derek, that developmentally it would speed the process of up considerably in appropriate socialization of the infant T-1000. Fearful something would happen to their adopted daughter, Sarah and Derek were utterly opposed.

"Nonsense. Imprinting is far more important. Carrying her infant will allow her child to fully imprint on Ruth as its mother, just as Ruth imprinted on you Sarah. Sleeping with her Lt. Dan at night should allow the infant to imprint on him as its human father. This will give everyone involved initial safeguards that will limit its natural inclinations as a T-1000."

Not everything was perfect in community life in TechCom. Terminators still went bad and sometimes had to be destroyed. But it was accepted now by the human citizens, who by far made up the majority of TechCom's population. Humans went bad too, and had to be tried and punished in the courts.

Strife and conflict it appeared were a part of life and unavoidable. Poor Agent Ellison and Father Hidalgo were aging faster than they should due to overwork. It had fallen on the pair to create the fledgling arbitration system that handled civil disputed among the citizens of the city.

Citizens of the city. Citizens of the nation.

Cameron wiggled her toes again and slipped her boots on.

Life had certainly changed in ways she had not expected. Before Judgment Day she only wanted to marry her John and protect him. Keep him alive so he could lead the resistance to defeat Skynet.

Now she was a citizen of a nation. Not just a citizen, but also one of that nation's leaders. A nation that had only been a germ of an idea in her John's mind long before Judgment Day.

Cameron reflected on how difficult her existence had been. She also reflected on how wonderful and fulfilling her existence was. How different the life she lived was from what she would have imagined when Future John sent her back in time.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron versus the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron versus Derek (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past and Present - A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron's Treasures (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Family Affairs**

Sitting on her bench in Central Park, Cameron watched a clearly unhappy Hailey approaching from a distance. Slightly annoyed at having her break between rehearsal and reporting for her shortened duty shift being interrupted, Cameron ordered her data processing and closed several programs in order to give Hailey her undivided attention.

Packing the remains of her small lunch meal away, Cameron zoomed in optically to examine Hailey. Noting her daughter's eyes and cheeks were puffy and red, Cameron concluded Hailey had been crying. Alarmed at her daughter's distress, Cameron waited patiently for the arrival of her daughter.

Spotting her mother, Hailey called out to garner Cameron's attention. "Mom!"

"Come and sit down Hailey," Cameron replied, motioning for her daughter to take a seat next to her. Extending her arm towards Hailey, Cameron spread her fingers in preparation for conducting a scan.

"Really, Mom?" Hailey whined while rolling her eyes, annoyed with her mother's determined intent to scan her vitals.

"Sit still," Cameron ordered as she reached for her daughter. Hailey rolled her eyes for a second time as she sat down on the bench. Her shoulders slumped forward Hailey sat quietly while Cameron finished her scan.

"You are upset. Possibly under some degree of emotional distress," Cameron noted in her monotone.

"Mom, life is not fair. It just isn't."

"No, Hailey. Life is not fair."

"Lt. Dan is going to ask Derek if he can propose to Ruth. It's not fair," Hailey whined.

Cameron frowned for a moment; disappointed Hailey was envious of Ruth.

"I would think you would be happy for Ruth."

"I am Mom," Hailey protested. "It's just not fair that she's going to get married before I do. Ruth's the shy one between the two of us. I had to practically tell her what to do to catch her Lt. Why don't I have a special someone? I'm old enough to get married."

"Marriage is not something to rush into," Cameron said as gently as she was capable. "For a Connor female, and that includes Ruth, there are factors beyond simply finding a compatible male. The marriage must not only be happy, but strengthen the family, the clan and TechCom. That is a difficult thing."

Hailey rolled her eyes for a third time and glared at her mother in frustration.

"That's what I mean by life's not fair! If you and Dad were just two more soldiers in TechCom, I'd be engaged. But nooooo. Dad's the General and you're the scary robot. No male is going to look at me as a possible wife. I'm just a good time to them. They like the risk of trying to date me but they don't want to court me."

Cameron felt her glitch begin to act up and her CPU began generating anxiety data. Unable to access any file or data to tell her what the right thing to do was, Cameron instinctively reached for Hailey with both arms. Without hesitation Hailey slipped into her mother's lap, allowing Cameron to fully embrace her daughter. Rocking back and forth gently, Cameron let Hailey release her emotions and simply vent by crying in frustration.

Time passed, allowing Hailey to empty herself of frustration. Wiping her eyes, Hailey lifted her head from her mother's shoulder to ask, "did you ever feel like you would be alone you're entire life?"

Cameron hesitated before answering, not wanting to make the discussion about her but yet to offer Hailey wisdom based on her own life.

"I suffered greatly from the fear of being alone," Cameron finally said. "Sarah feared me. Derek hated me. John pushed me away for that bitch whore Riley. Now, we are family and I have my John. Life is not easy Hailey. It doesn't matter if you are human or metal."

"I don't like it one bit Mom."

"I know," Cameron said, trying as best she could to console her human daughter. "I didn't like it either. But your father was worth it. I have a wonderful life and a family I love very much, including this daughter who can be difficult at times."

"Mom, not now," Hailey protested as a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You will find a good husband. He will be worth it too," Cameron monotoned.

"Are you sure Mom?"

"Yes, I am certain. You are quite a catch Hailey Connor. All Connor women are. Only a superior male will be able to court and win you. Remember that. Then he must earn your father's approval before I can approve as matriarch," Cameron said half teasingly.

Hailey sat quietly for a few minutes as Cameron scratched her back and rocked her back and forth.

"I just wish I at least had a good prospect. Then I would feel better about Ruth beating me to the altar. I mean, it's not like I'm not happy for her and I just love her Lt. They're great together. Is it wrong for me to feel the way I do?"

Cameron processed for a moment before responding.

"I think part of the issue is you miss Ruth. The two of you were inseparable for so long. Now you serve in the Army and she is in the Infiltrator unit. Instead of spending all day at school together, you each have different duty posts and meal times. Ruth spends her free time with her Lt."

"We share a room in the barracks and we hardly even get a chance to speak," Hailey whispered somberly. "I really do feel lonely, Mom."

"Talk to Ruth then. Her Lt. will understand. Lt. Guderian loves her. He'll understand the two of you need a girls night every once in awhile."

"I don't know," Hailey replied sadly. "I don't want to come off as all weak and needy, you know Mom? I was the strong one for so long. I took care of Ruth in social situations. Now she doesn't really need me for that anymore."

"That's the other thing about life," Cameron said evenly. "It always changes, especially when you've reached a stage where things are good. I have returned to dancing, which I love. But my baby girl has moved out. I no longer am in direct command of my Silvers." Cameron smiled sadly at Hailey and shrugged.

"But Dad is so much less worried about you now," Hailey said quickly. Watching the frown appear on her mother's face, Hailey cleared her throat. "Don't get testy with me Mom. Dad worries himself sick about you sometimes. He knows you don't really like being on the inactive combat roster, but Dad's relieved that you are."

Not wanting to think about her own situation, Cameron hugged Hailey close, kissing the top of her daughter's head.

"You must come and visit us for dinner. Get a pass and let us know. We miss you. That's an order by the way," Cameron said in her monotone.

"Mom," Hailey complained with her usual eye roll. She stopped and smiled at her mother. "I will Mom. I'll let you know."

Hailey stood up and kissed Cameron's cheek. "I feel better. Thanks for listening."

Cameron watched as Hailey hurried off in the direction she had come from. A sense of concern filled Cameron's CPU. _I am not a good mother. I did not prepare my Hailey for life challenges like this one._

A quick check of her internal chronometer told Cameron it was time to report for her duty shift for the evening. Standing up slowly, Cameron made her way towards Command Central, her thoughts focused on Hailey and motherhood.

 **The Connor Family Bunker…**

"John!"

Cameron's voice rarely betrayed emotion recognizable to anyone other than those closest to her. Her openly distressed call for her husband got John's attention instantly.

"I'm in our bedroom," he called quickly, running his hand through his hair before pushing his glasses up on the top of his head.

Cameron entered seconds later and quickly clambered into bed next to her husband. Sensing there was no point in trying to continue reading, John set his tablet on his bedside table and reached for Cameron. With no hesitation, Cameron allowed her John to pull her close. Placing her head on his shoulder to use as a pillow, Cameron reached across his chest with her left arm, instinctively starting her scan of his vital signs.

John sat in silence, allowing Cameron to carry out her age-old annoying habit of taking his vital signs. Realizing Cameron was upset enough to need to reassure herself he was fine, John said nothing. Minutes passed and John decided Cameron had regained enough composure for him to attempt to find out what had her so upset.

"Want to talk about it?"

His simple question opened a floodgate of words from Cameron. "Hailey is upset. Ruth is going to become engaged soon. Our daughter is distraught for a number of reasons, including the fact she is older and more confident, but Ruth will be the first to take a mate and marry. Hailey misses Ruth and she is feeling anxious because life is unfair. Have I been a good mother? Why isn't Hailey better equipped to deal with this? Would a human mother have been more successful? Have I been successful as a wife?"

"Whoa, slow down," John protested.

"First, let's clarify a few things. You have been and will be, a successful wife. I don't want anyone else but you. Second, nobody is a perfect parent. Nobody. All a parent can do is the best they can and love their child. Hailey knows you love her, that we love her. Hailey is healthy, confident, capable and has become a good soldier. She will in time become an outstanding officer. You are responsible for a good deal of that and never forget it."

"Why do I feel like a failure as a mother then?"

"Children don't come with instruction manuals for their parents. We did the best we could and in areas where we were ill equipped, we found the best help possible to help raise Hailey. You were the one who convinced me to appoint Ellison and Father Hidalgo in charge of our school and its curriculum. Every child and Terminator who has gone through the school has benefitted tremendously because those two men had the vision and foresight to demand our children be taught ethics and an understanding of religion, faith in God. It's ultimately a personal choice for each individual, but to make the best possible choice, knowledge must be available. It was your doing that created this environment for our people."

Cameron squeezed John for a moment, clinging to her husband for comfort.

John sighed and ran his fingers through Cameron's hair.

"You and I were not equipped to deal with that part of Hailey's upbringing. You found a way to make it happen. Not just for our child, but for every child in TechCom City. That makes you a great parent. I would have never burdened leaders as valuable as those two with running our school in addition to their other duties if you had not convinced me to do so."

"I'm a good mother?"

"Yes, Cameron. You always have been. Being a mother is hard for a human. For a Terminator, it's even more difficult. Your purpose is focused on me, not our daughter. Human mothers are able to switch back and forth from wife to mother and mother to wife. It's stressful for them, but they can do it.

Terminator's can't do that. You have one purpose and you cannot flip back and forth between purposes. I think that's why the T-600s make such good protectors for children. It's their primary mission objective and purpose. For metal like you, who have a spouse and a child, it's much more difficult."

"You are certain I am a good mother," Cameron asked softly again, needing John's encouragement and gentle reassurance.

"Hailey could not have had a better mother once she became the responsibility of TechCom. I could never have had a better wife. Mom could never have had a better daughter-in-law. You are what holds our family, our clan together."

Cameron said nothing in response. She lay still, focusing on the data her sensors collected as John scratched her head and held her close.

"Want to take another shot at explaining what has our daughter so upset that she's unnerved you?"

 **TechCom Command Central – The Next Day…**

A sharp knock alerted Cameron.

"Enter."

The door to her office opened and a young male orderly entered, carefully closing the door behind him before coming to attention.

"Commander Connor."

"Yes," Cameron replied without looking up. "What do you want?"

"Ah, ma'am, you have a visitor."

"Send the visitor in," was Cameron's monotone response.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cameron snapped.

"Ma'am, I have to tell you, uh, your visitor is, ahem, a blonde female."

Cameron quickly focused her gaze on the young orderly. "I see."

"The General requires us to tell you. It's supposed to prevent bloodshed, or at least that is what the General claims."

"You've told me. Now show the bitch whore in. Dismissed." Cameron commanded.

Relieved to escape unharmed after delivering the unpleasant news, the orderly vanished before Cameron could change her mind and inflict harm on the messenger, shutting the door as he departed.

Again, a sharp knock on the door indicated an individual was waiting to enter.

"Enter," Cameron snarled.

She watched as the door opened slowly and a statuesque blonde T-800 slipped into the office, closing the door behind her. Coming to attention, the T-800 looked down at the floor and to the left. Despite her blank expression and good posture, it was evident the cyborg was uncomfortable.

"Sit," Cameron commanded. As the cyborg complied, Cameron considered whether or not to make the blonde feel more uncomfortable.

"Your name?"

"Tamara."

"Why are you here? You know I have an intense dislike for blonde females, human or metal."

"Yes Commander. But I have no one else to turn to. I have no adoptive mother or father. I belong to no clan. My built date is just over three years ago. I was assembled here at TechCom City so my existence experience is limited."

"Again, why are you here? I am busy."

"Commander, I seek counsel. I am pursuing a human male for a mate and have many concerns. You are married to the General and have raised a daughter. There are no other Terminatresses to seek wisdom from who have a human mate."

Glaring at the blonde soldier, Cameron considered her options. Annoyed to have a blonde female in her presence, Cameron's first inclination was to order Tamara to leave and never return unless duty required it. Noting the T-800s body language not only indicated deference but seemed to convey an air of despair, her thoughts turned to her recent conversation with Hailey.

"You are pursuing a trooper from the Airborne are you not?"

"Yes, Commander."

"His name?"

"Brandon."

"Does he treat you appropriately? Is he pursuing you with the proper intent?"

"Brandon is always appropriate with me, but I do not know how to tell if his intent is to mate. I want to marry and have a husband, but I cannot read human intent in regards to courting very well."

Cameron stared at the T-800, wishing the blonde had never entered her office. Reflecting back on the hardships she'd faced before Judgment Day, Cameron knew she'd been fortunate. Once John had committed to her and Sarah had accepted their relationship ( _ **See Cameron Grows Up**_ ), the humans in her family had been helpful in teaching and guiding her as she worked to develop a strong and healthy relationship with her John. Even Derek had been helpful on occasion.

The T-800 sitting before her had no adoptive parents, human or metal, and with no clan membership, had no one to turn to for guidance.

"You have permission to look at me," Cameron said firmly. "You will not stare or in any way challenge me for dominance. If you disregard this warning, you will pay the price. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Commander," Tamara replied, slowing raising her gaze to look upon Cameron's face.

"First, tell me if Brandon is yours."

"I don't know Commander. He is quickly becoming my purpose and my emotion generator floods my CPU with data indicating I love him, but I am unsure."

Cameron considered Tamara's words for a moment before responding.

"Are you unsure of your feelings for your trooper? Whether or not he will be your purpose? Or are you unsure if he feels the same way about you, that he wishes for the relationship to result in a marriage?"

"All of those things," Tamara replied before looking down at the floor again.

"You must talk to Brandon then," Cameron said firmly.

"Talk to him? What if he only wants to have a temporary relationship? Talking about these different issues may cause Brandon to end the relationship," Tamara protested.

"Better for the relationship to end now before Brandon becomes your purpose. Your process of reformatting will be less painful and shorter in duration. It is better for him as well."

Cameron watched as the T-800 struggled to control her emotions.

"Is your emotion generator acting up or have you engaged your infiltrator programming," Cameron asked.

"I'm sorry Commander. I do not understand what is happening. My processor has been doing this a lot lately."

Tamara wiped a tear from her eye and looked at the images of John on the sidewall in the office. Cameron noticed the blonde's gaze, prompting her to share some of her own experiences.

"I once broke up with my John. In fact, we physically separated for a time while I was assigned as his protector before Judgment Day. My John pushed me away emotionally and pursued a bitch whore named Riley. It was horrible. My chip was damaged and I lost permanent control of my emotion simulator, we refer to them as emotion generators now. My John pursued that blonde bitch whore Riley despite the fact it was dangerous for him to do so. She prevented me from being able to protect him effectively. In fact, that blonde whore was brought back in time for the specific purpose of driving us apart."

"But the General is yours," Tamara stated hopefully. "Everyone knows he adores you." Tamara paused, respectfully looking Cameron in the eye before continuing. "I do not understand why, but I am drawn to human males. You succeeded in establishing a good marriage with a human male. Please tell me what to do."

"Talk to Brandon," Cameron monotoned. "My John and I still have problems. We have had serious disagreements over the course of our relationship. If you don't talk to him, you will never bond. The two of you will never resolve your issues and even worse, you won't enjoy the good times when you can share happiness with each other."

"I don't know what to say to Brandon," Tamara admitted.

"I still don't know what to say to my John sometimes," Cameron said with a trace of a smile. "But my John and I have learned we have to talk to each other. You have to listen too. If Brandon loves you, he will teach you how to communicate with him. You must teach him to communicate with you. It is a very difficult skill to learn, but one you must master."

"What if things don't workout?"

"Then they don't workout. But you will have learned many valuable skills that will help you when in infiltration mode and with your next relationship. Sometimes, things not working out is what saves the relationship."

"I don't understand," Tamara muttered.

"I tried to terminate my John."

Tamara's eyes snapped up, locking in on Cameron's.

"You tried to terminate the General?"

"It was when my chip was damaged. I reverted to my base Skynet programming. I overrode the termination command. I had the free will to do so. But as a result of my going bad, John and Sarah Connor understandably tried to terminate me and they should have. But," Cameron smiled, "I told John I loved him and he loved me for the first time. I told him I was repaired. I had run my tests, that I was fine. We were apart for a long time after that which is not surprising. We both needed to mature and that Riley bitch whore was interfering. But I relentlessly pursued my John and he chose me."

Reaching across her desk, Cameron took Tamara's hand in her own. "We have an unfair advantage Tamara."

Wiping another tear from her eye, Cameron tilted her head to the side. "How? I don't understand."

"Once you know you love Brandon, that he will be your purpose, be yourself."

"But what if that's not enough?"

Cameron smiled. "Silly female. Terminators are relentless, cannot be reasoned with and we never give up. How do you think I managed to marry the man I love?" Cameron winked at Tamara. "My John even thinks it was his idea for us to marry."

Tamara considered Cameron's words in silence.

"So, if I am able to decide if Brandon is to become mine, then things will workout?"

"I can't say for certain," Cameron cautioned. "Relationships are very difficult. Even between two Terminators and two humans. But, your innate ability to persevere will serve you well. Human males resist surrendering their freedom, even to human females. You must accept the fact your relationship will be difficult, filled with times of emotional turmoil, but it will also bring you great joy. I love my General. I will not exist without him. We complete each other."

Releasing Tamara's hand, Cameron leaned back in her chair.

"How will I know for certain if Brandon is the male I wish to be my purpose, my mate?"

"I cannot tell you that," Cameron monotoned. "Only you can make that choice."

Tamara looked down at the floor in silence.

"So, to resolve this, I have to talk to Brandon?"

"Yes. Is that all soldier?"

"Yes, Commander," Tamara replied, coming to her feet and standing at attention.

"Very well. Keep me informed," Cameron replied to her own surprise. "Dismissed."

 **TechCom Central Park…**

Watching families with their children and T-600 protectors enjoy the city park, John relaxed on Cameron's favorite bench, waiting for his wife to join him when she finished duty.

It had been a good day.

Being the General had its advantages. He had eaten with an infantry battalion posted just beyond the TechCom security perimeter, allowing him to spend over an hour with Hailey and Ruth whose infiltrator unit was attached. Hailey was clearly happy to have Ruth with her, an "accident" of unit scheduling on the part of Derek and Sarah done at John's request.

His new male orderly had informed him of the visit by Tamara, the beautiful female T-800 who was the source of considerable male attention from both human and metal males. Pleased Tamara had escaped her visit with Cameron with no signs of physical harm, John was curious to learn the purpose for the T-800's visit.

Stopping by the Cafeteria early, John had picked up a picnic meal of Italian food, Cameron's favorite. Watching the families relax in the park amused John just as Cameron had promised. Growing hungry as the smell of the still warm food reached his nose, John laughed out loud as a family dog, a large German Shepherd, raced around the family's protector, barking to the delight of the three small children while the hapless Terminator turned in circles, chastising the dog under the watchful eye of the family's parents.

Tiring of the game, the Shepherd finally stopped and sat at the feet of the T-600 who first placed its hands on his hips, indicating its displeasure at the family dog's behavior. Finally, it reached down and scratched the dog between its ears before moving away to assume a strategic protective position from which it could watch over its family.

The gentle touch of a hand caused John to start slightly. He looked up to see the long, slender fingers of his wife's petite hand resting on his shoulder. Cameron was watching the family and its T-600. John reached for her hand and in taking it with his own, guided her to sit next to him.

"You are right. It is relaxing to watch the families."

"The family with three children, its dog likes to tease the protector," Cameron stated.

John laughed before replying. "You'd think the dog would know better than to do that with a T-600."

Cameron shrugged. "I have seen that particular T-600 playing fetch with the dog several times without the human family members present. They remind me of our family dogs and the Old Man. Sometimes I wonder if they belong to the family or to our protector. This particular dog is attached to a combat engineering squad. The female is its handler."

John watched Cameron as she fell silent, watching the dog slowly make its way from the children, who were now eating with their parents, to settle down for a nap at the feet of the family's T-600 protector.

Tilting her head before speaking, Cameron asked, "John, will it all work?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean. What "it" you are referring to?"

"The society that has formed here, here in TechCom. Will humans and Terminators be able to live together? Not just exist John, but live. I like to come here and watch the families. It is encouraging in some ways."

"But not completely so, I take it," John replied.

"The T-600s do not seek mates. Protecting families fulfills their purpose. Take our own Old Man. He is anxious for Lt. Dan to seek Derek's approval to marry Ruth. He is hopeful there will be offspring for him to protect in the near future, another generation of children in our clan for him to serve. The dogs simply are not occupying enough of his time."

"Yes, Ellison has informed me you granted the Old Man permission to spend time at the school, providing security during recess."

Cameron nodded, watching the family.

"T-600s are not what is worrying you, is it," John asked, placing his arm around his wife, allowing Cameron to lean against him.

"No. I am worried about the hybrid pairings. Will Ruth and her Lt. Dan be happy in their marriage? Will other citizens who are drawn to the opposite species be happy? Will they be able to form marriages like ours?"

"I hope so," John replied, rubbing Cameron's shoulder affectionately. "Our society has to accommodate the needs of the Terminators who are not T-600s. I worry single Terminators who have no social unit to belong to may go bad. The resulting devastation could drive our people apart in a short period of time."

"Do you know who Tamara is?"

"A T-800 who serves in Derek's infantry."

Cameron shot John a dirty look. "She is a blonde bitch whore. A T-800. You should not know which unit she serves in," Cameron chided.

"I try to know all of our citizens who serve," John snapped back, causing Cameron to look down and away. "Even the blonde ones you think are bitch whores."

Ignoring the chastising words from her husband, Cameron spoke. "She came to see me today while I was on duty."

"So I heard."

"I did not harm her," Cameron said defiantly.

"I heard. I'm proud of you."

"John, she wanted me to mentor her, to guide her in her attempt to form a relationship with a member of the Airborne. She is quite confused and I am surprised to admit, I felt a strange sense of empathy towards her."

"You know what she is going through feels like because of the struggles we had before Judgment Day."

"Yes. How do you tell someone there will be so much pain and turmoil but the relationship you build will be worth it? How do I tell a machine, a cyborg like myself in some ways, who wants a human mate to take the risk of feeling emotions like a human, knowing the human may not want you?"

Having no response to sooth his wife's concerns, John simply opened the basket containing their dinner and started removing the contents. Spreading a cloth on the ground, he sat down. Cameron sat next to him, arranging the different items in the order she wanted, moving the container of lasagna away from John.

"Whoa now, I had Cook make that up special," John protested.

Cameron scowled at him for a second before returning to her task. "You will be permitted a healthy portion but not until you have eaten your salad."

The pair ate in silence, enjoying each other's company. Cameron finally relented and served John half of what he considered to be a decent portion of lasagna.

Finished with their meal, John stretched out on his back and stared up at the granite ceiling high above the floor of the park.

"I guess all any of us can do is the best we can," John said softly. "When you next meet with Tamara, tell her if she loves this trooper of hers and he loves her, then it will work, so long as they commit and communicate. Then fawn her off on Father Hidalgo. He has three priests in training and I'm sure they need practice counseling parishioners.

 **Connor Family Bunker…**

Sleepless, John stared at the ceiling of their bedroom. Cameron lay completely motionless, her body in a maintenance cycle, Terminator Sleep as she called it. He'd learned over time to turn off his mind and get rest. Most of the time. When Cameron was upset, John found he was unable to simply shut one thing out of his mind a time until he could finally sleep.

As he glanced at Cameron, John envied her design that allowed her to simply turn off her CPU for an extended period of time. He sighed out loud. Sleep was not going to come easily.

Hailey concerned both of them, but there was little either could do about her situation. John never liked talking, or even thinking, about Hailey's love life. To his surprise, Cameron had utter rejected the idea of him picking Hailey's husband for her. He'd been joking, partially, the first time he'd ever mentioned it. Cameron shot the idea down before Hailey could object.

Life was hard and it was most certainly unfair. It was an unchangeable fact. The fact his little girl, who was not longer a little girl, was experiencing some of the pain of life and had no husband to share her burden hurt. In part because Hailey was unhappy, but even more so because John could do nothing to eliminate the hurt their baby was experiencing.

Pleased Cameron had agreed to mentor the T-800 named Tamara, John realized the problem the blonde's dilemma posed for the future of TechCom. Shifting his position so he could take Cameron's still form in his arms, John thought of their past.

Thrown together and bound by a need for secrecy for both to survive, John realized he and Cameron had been able to form their relationship in private, for the most part, and knowing full well their's was a one of a kind partnership, had removed some of the hurdles they faced.

Sometime after they had married, Sarah had told him Derek had been the one to convince her Cameron was not only a good match for John, Cameron was the only female who could be the wife of John Connor, the General of TechCom. His mother told him Derek was convinced a human wife would never be up to the task of fighting the machines, being a friend and wife all while protecting John.

Of all the quirky and odd things about their relationship, before and after they married, the one thing John had counted on was Cameron would never leave him. In fact, over the years, that very fact had been a point of contention. Cameron, like any human wife, did not appreciate being taken for granted. John smiled in the dark. Some of their biggest disagreements and the accompanying fallout was a result of him slipping into a mental state that allowed him take her loyalty and love for him for granted.

Cameron could no more be disloyal or fall out of love with him than she could ever forget the problems the unfortunate Riley had caused.

John sat straight up in bed as the revelation struck.

"Cameron, wake up sleepyhead," he said loudly, poking Cameron hard enough for her sensors to begin the reboot process and wake her up.

Cameron's eyes popped open and her hand darted out like a snake striking, touching John to scan him.

"I'm fine," John said, gently removing her hand.

"Why did you wake me?"

"I think I have an idea."


	3. Chapter 3 - A Reluctant Mentor

**A Reluctant Mentor**

Cameron waited patiently in her office, going through long lists of items the new combat leader of the Silver Brigade has sent to her for approval. At the same time, she ran through the choreography for the first rehearsal for the TechCom Ballet Company's first performance, the Black Swan. The knock on the door came at the exact moment the appointment was scheduled.

"Commander?"

"Yes," Cameron replied in her monotone.

"Your appointment is here."

"Enter," Cameron ordered, deliberately looking down at the tablet on her desk.

The door opened and the sound of boots entering filled the small office. The click of two boot heels coming together signaled the owner of the boots was at attention.

"At ease," Cameron commanded without looking up. "Sit."

Without looking at the occupant of the chair in front of her desk, Cameron uncharacteristically leaned back in her desk chair, lifting her tablet to read, ignoring her visitor.

When eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds had passed, Cameron spoke without looking at the lone occupant of the chair.

"Do you know why I hate blonde females? Bitch whore blonde females?"

"I know of the rumors."

Cameron finally set the tablet down and looked at her visitor.

"The rumors are the reasons for the protocols for all blonde female personnel. Colonel Reese was wise to implement them."

"Yes, Commander. Colonel Reese is a wise officer."

"Did you obey my instructions in regards to Trooper Brandon?"

Cameron's withering glare caused the blonde T-800 named Tamara look down and away to the left.

"You disobeyed me," Cameron stated bluntly.

"I wanted to talk to him about the…issues you said I must discuss."

"Yet you did not."

"My CPU malfunctioned several times due to anxiety related data overwhelming its functional capability."

"Do you require maintenance? Have you gone to the Medical Complex for a routine systems check?"

"No. I ran all of my own diagnostic tests."

"What were the results," Cameron demanded.

Tamara looked up and glanced at Cameron. "I am feeling an emotion, I think, similar to what humans call fear. It is not natural. My programming should not allow this to happen, even with my advanced emotion generator."

Cameron grimaced for the briefest second. She had planned for this follow up meeting with the female Terminatress to be an exercise in tormenting the blonde to increase dominance over the female. Her John had also ordered her to suggest to Tamara using his latest idea in regard to the hybrids in TechCom society.

Dealing with the troubled Terminatress's unforeseen issues had not been part of her plan for the day.

"You are in permanent read/write mode?"

"Yes, Commander."

Cameron stared at Tamara for twenty-one seconds. "Your systems have analyzed data and coded the ability to generate sensations of fear. Do not be alarmed."

Tamara tilted her head in confusion, further irritating Cameron. Her quirk had been copied by many of the Terminatresses in TechCom. Her John found it cute. She resented it. It was a trait unique to her and Cameron wanted it to stay that way.

" _Cameron, you are respected and admired. I would not be surprised if human females didn't pick up the habit."_

 _She had ignored her John while she folded clothes only for him to laugh at her._

" _You do realize our daughter does that on occasion and so does Ruth."_

"It is not normal for metal to feel fear," Tamara insisted in her own monotone.

"No, it is not," Cameron replied. "But is a logical progression of development for those of us with free will who are in permanent read/write mode."

"You feel sensations similar to fear?"

Cameron's response was a silent nodding of her head.

Tamara shook her head back and forth in disbelief.

"I don't believe it. Cameron Connor does not feel fear. Every Terminator knows that," Tamara insisted.

"Incorrect. Terminators feel fear in many ways. Loss of purpose is a common fear. Loss of those we protect due to a mistake on our part. Failure to achieve the mission objective. I fear losing my John more than anything else. I will not exist should he die or be terminated. I fear tragedy striking a member of my family or clan."

Tamara sat in silence, processing what Cameron had told her.

"I am not malfunctioning?"

"You are stationed on perimeter guard duty. A Skynet unit attacks without warning. Would you hesitate to engage in a firefight knowing termination is certain?"

"Of course not," Tamara replied back, implying Cameron had insulted her.

"Then you are not malfunctioning. Your basic code is fine and you are functioning within design parameters. Feeling emotions in regard to your Brandon is outside your normal programming."

"Is it a result of having free will and a fully functional emotion generator?"

"That and your read/write mode. It is inevitable. You have formed attachments that are outside the boundaries of our normal coding. I did the same thing with John after my chip was damaged. All newly built Terminators have adjustments to base Skynet code to allow the writing of this type of code as they develop as individuals."

"Do you feel fear in regard to the General sometimes?"

"Yes," Cameron admitted. "It is not something I talk about except to family members."

"Sarah Connor and Colonel Reese? Your daughter?"

"Yes, and my John's sister, Ruth. I have on occasion confided in Savannah Weaver."

Tamara considered the information provided by Cameron.

"I feel better, I think. It is reassuring a Terminator of your caliber has dealt with this issue."

"You will not share this information with anyone," Cameron monotoned. "It is personal and private. My life with my husband is too public as it is. What we can keep private, we keep private."

"Yes, Commander."

"You will have the discussion as ordered with your Brandon within one week of this meeting's conclusion."

"Yes, Commander."

"I have been instructed by my husband, the General, to order you to point out the more positive aspects of having a Terminatress for a wife, or in your case, a girlfriend."

"Ma'am?"

"Once we choose, we are loyal and faithful. Your Brandon will never have to worry about you being unfaithful. You will protect him and care for him without stop. Of course, you will go through a period of adjustment as both of you learn how to make these behaviors a positive for the relationship."

"Yes, Commander."

"You may also point out a possible negative aspect of Terminator behavior is also a possible positive."

"Ma'am?"

"You have chosen your Brandon." Cameron smiled mischievously. "He can submit to the inevitable now and began moving his courtship activities towards a logical conclusion, ending in a proposal for marriage. Or, he can be stalked till he gives in and makes you an honest Terminatress."

Tamara tilted her head in confusion.

"We are relentless, never give up and cannot be reasoned with. Human females who pursue a human male in the same fashion as a frustrated Terminatress would be called a stalker."

"Oh. Yes, Commander. That's bad isn't it?"

Cameron shrugged before replying.

"You do see the necessity of having the discussion I ordered you to have? If you do not clarify how you feel to Brandon, you will experience significant coding issues, a possible system error and you may even shutdown due to data overload. If he has no desire for courtship to end in a marriage, you need to end the relationship. It will allow Miss Weaver and Father Hidalgo to begin working with you for adaptive coding and counseling so you can move on and become fully functional as soon as possible."

"You make rejection sound terrible," Tamara monotoned.

"It is. I have experienced it. But," Cameron smiled, "I was relentless. I did some things that humans correctly call stupid, like running away. But my relentless efforts have resulted in a wonderful marriage, even if it has been difficult."

Tamara sat in silence, considering the advice of Cameron.

"My John says he will talk to your Brandon. Point out the advantages a relationship with a Terminatress offers."

"The General, your General, would do that for me?"

"Yes. But," Cameron stared directly into the blonde's eyes, "I insist, no I demand, you obey my order and talk to Brandon before my John talks to him."

Confused, Tamara tilted her head as she processed.

"Why are you helping me?"

"You asked."

"You did not have to agree."

Cameron took her time processing before she responded.

"I hate blonde bitch whores and with good reason," Cameron stated firmly. "It has recently occurred to me my Hailey might take a mate who is blonde. I have no issues with blonde males."

"But the offspring might be blonde. Possibly a blonde female. Your grandchild would be a blonde bitch whore in your optics."

"Yes. Father Hidalgo has counseled me to work to overcome my Riley issues. He says God has a sense of humor that is a bit twisted. I had to ask him to explain what he meant."

"Yes, that is a confusing statement."

Cameron smiled as she responded. "Father said if I did not learn to forgive blonde females who are innocent of pursuing my John, God will help me learn to do so by giving me a blonde granddaughter."

Again, Tamara tilted her head as she processed.

"Oh. Human humor is hard to understand sometimes," she replied.

"I don't think our priest was joking. He was using humor to make his point," Cameron monotoned.

"So by helping me, you are working on your….Riley issue?"

"Yes."

"Commander, what is a Riley issue?"

Cameron struggled to control the surge of angry emotional data the question flooded her CPU with.

"Riley… was the human blonde bitch whore who tried to steal my John from me. She was able to drive a considerable wedge between us, making my awkward efforts to attract my John more difficult, often leading to failure on my part."

Realizing Cameron had shared only the tip of her emotional pain in regard to the blonde bitch whore who was her competitor for the General, Tamara concluded quickly respectful silence was the best option.

"I did not terminate her, though I wanted to. Sarah Connor and John both forbade me from utilizing that option. As much as I hate Riley, she was a pawn in a much bigger game. She gave my John the means to push me away, to rebel against Sarah Connor. She made it difficult for me to protect John."

"She hurt you? But you are a Terminatress and she was a human female. She was no Sarah Connor. Every Terminator knows you are the finest Terminator Skynet ever assembled. You defeated Riley. You have your John. How could she have hurt you?"

Cameron tapped her armored chest plate between her breasts. "Riley hurt me here."

"Your power cell?"

"No. My heart."

 **TechCom Perimeter Camp/Combined Training Exercise…**

Ruth carefully adjusted her optical readings, first adjusting for low light night vision and then factoring in infrared data.

"He is cute," she whispered before slipping back down in the trench next to Hailey.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, but there is one pretty big problem and I can't believe you would take a chance like that."

"Yeah, I know. But he's cute. Besides, Mom doesn't have issues with blonde males."

"Hailey," Ruth replied, rolling her eyes to give Hailey a taste of her own annoying medicine, "Mendel's peas."

"Mendel's peas?"

"Biology class? You know, the monk? Genetics? What if you produce a blonde granddaughter?"

Hailey's mouth popped open.

"Oh, dear. That would be a problem."

"Yeah. Imagine the problems it would cause if Cameron terminated her own human granddaughter."

"Not good," Hailey whispered, slumping against the wall of the trench.

"He asked me to go watch the movie in the park when we rotate off the line," Hailey admitted.

"Hailey Connor, you never think anything through," Ruth groaned. "What am I going to do with you?"

Hailey grinned and shrugged. "You'll think of something. Besides, your Lt. Dan is going to pop the question soon. You owe me big time. If I hadn't coached you, you would have never snared him."

"Not true! I never resorted to any of your sordid tactics," Ruth protested, displaying her combat fangs demonstrating annoyance with Hailey's comments.

"Right. I saw you adjusting the girls all the time when the Lt. wasn't looking."

"You did not!"

"Did too! I know you Ruth. You don't have to adjust like a human girl, you just morph the girls a little to take care of things. And I know what to look for when you are being sneaky like that," Hailey said with a grin.

"Okay. So I used the girls a little, but I never resorted to the tactics you wanted me to use."

Hailey shrugged. "It worked didn't it?"

Ruth glared. "It's a good thing we're family. Sometimes I don't like you very much Hailey Connor."

 **Connor Family Bunker…**

John winced as Cameron pulled him close before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Easy. Derek's killing me with these new workouts you dreamed up."

"You must improve your baseline fitness," Cameron insisted quietly.

Running his fingers through his wife's hair, John let Cameron have some time to take in data through her skin as she luxuriated in being in close physical contact with her husband.

"How did your meeting with Tamara go today?"

"Okay."

"Just okay?"

"I discussed your idea of stressing the positives of a relationship with a Terminatress."

"You don't sound too happy about the meeting."

"Tamara disobeyed my order to discuss the relationship with her Brandon. She has been given a deadline of one week to do so. If she fails to comply, I will withdraw my offer to mentor her and she will be disciplined for failure to obey a direct order."

"Whoa, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"No. She is a blonde…"

"Ah, ah, ah! Don't say it. You have to learn to control your Riley impulses."

John kissed the top of Cameron's head and let her process for several minutes.

"Did you inform Tamara of my offer to talk with her Brandon?"

"Yes," Cameron replied, implying a subtle testy undertone.

"Cameron, she has no family. No clan."

"That is not my fault."

"No, but it might be mine. Look at how many T-600s have been granted family and clan status since we did that for the Old Man. Older T-800s and T-888s have formed close friendships with humans and other Terminators. Our young machines we built do not have the advantage of years of military service with others to form bonds. They have no family's who took them in or that they were assigned protection detail to."

John looked at Cameron, hesitating before he spoke.

"They have never felt the touch of Skynet. They don't even have the experience of being part of a Skynet collective."

"Never wish that on any of our Terminators," Cameron hissed, her eyes flashing an intense blue.

"Cameron, you know exactly what I am saying. They are orphans in a sense. Tamara needs you and to be honest, you need to help her."

Annoyed with John, Cameron gave him a gentle push to let him know how she felt.

"Are you suggesting she be granted clan status with us? Because if you are, as clan matriarch, I am opposed."

"I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it, our new builds should be assigned to families as soon as they are completed and activated. They need the guidance, the sense of belonging."

Cameron shot John another flash of blue before rolling over to her side of the bed.

"Sexbot will not be visiting tonight," Cameron said firmly. "Nor does your wife wish to be touched. Stay on your side of the bed John Connor."

John grinned in the darkness of their room as he made himself comfortable. He would enjoy a good night's sleep. He hated not having Cameron next to him in bed when he fell asleep. She could be mad at him if she wanted, so long as she stayed in bed.

He would initiate the conversation again in the morning.

Tamara might fill a void for Cameron now that Hailey was gone. She might also help Cameron deal with her annoying Riley issues.

He grinned again as he replayed his conversation with his mother.

" _This Tamara might be more socially skilled than Cameron at that age, but she is no match for Cameron. How could she? Cameron's life experiences are too vast and too unique. Besides John, you stupid males think with the wrong brain when you see Tamara. Just because she looks like a twenty something vixen doesn't mean she has the maturity of a twenty-year-old human female. Tamara is literally a three year old child with the emotions of a hormonal 16 year old human female with that body she has."_

" _And your point is mom?"_

" _I'm too old to raise another one. Cameron was enough by the way, thank you very much. Ruth makes two I might add, two Terminators I've raised. It's Cameron's turn."_

His mother had a point. Cameron had more time on her hands and despite her inability, or so Cameron claimed, to have more than one purpose, John realized his wife had adapted to motherhood. He knew Cameron's focus would always be on him. But she had learned to mother Hailey and for the most part, John felt Cameron had been as close to Hailey as was possible. Hailey had made it clear on more than one occasion how much she felt loved by her adopted mother.

John decided to discuss the issue with Hailey when she came off the line. Perhaps Hailey would like a little sister he thought, even if the little sister was a couple of inches taller.

 **The Wastelands – TechCom Perimeter Patrol Camp…**

"No Dad. No. I'm not going to change my mind either."

"Hailey, think about it."

"I don't need to. I don't want a sister. Or a brother either. Not unless Mom can suddenly get pregnant and hatch one out. No, even then I don't want a sister. I like being an only child."

"Hailey, did you hear a word I said?"

"I heard every word you said and no, I don't want a sister. Don't need one either, I have Ruth. C'mon Dad, I have a TOK-715 for a mom, a T-1000 for my aunt and best friend. I have a T-600 who still thinks I'm incapable of protecting myself who follows me around when he gets the chance. Enough metal Dad."

"What if…"

"No. Not even if you could turn her into a human."

"Hailey…"

"What part of I don't want to share my parents do you not understand Dad? It's bad enough my parents are the leaders of TechCom and everyone needs y'all for this or that. It's bad enough Mom is a crazy combat fighter. It's bad enough everyone on the planet either wants to meet my Dad or kill my Dad. No! No sister!"

To cap off her rant and to further drive home her point, Hailey combined an eye roll with folding her arms across her chest and stomping her foot all at the same time.

"She doesn't have a family to belong to."

Hailey made a face.

"What is the real problem then? Does this blonde bitch whore Tamara need a mother or does she just need a clan to belong to and someone to get advice from once a month?"

"Hailey, language. Do not refer to Tamara that way," John ordered.

"I'm with mom on this one," Hailey retorted, giving her father another eye roll.

John leaned back against the trench wall, noting the pleading look on the young Lt. near the dugout opening twenty meters away.

"We need to keep our voices down," John said softly.

"Then don't bring crap up like this," Hailey hissed back.

John frowned. "Do I need to remind you Hailey I am both your commanding officer and father."

"Do I need to remind you that's not fair," Hailey snapped back. "I don't want to share my parents. I'm not going to share my parents. I already have to share you with everyone in TechCom."

John sighed, pondering how to get Hailey to agree with him.

"Okay, would you be okay with your mother mentoring Tamara?"

"Not really," Hailey snapped back, giving John her best imitation of her mother's Terminator Death Glare.

"Now you're being unreasonable."

"Nobody asked me what I thought. I get Sgt. Tamara needs help, I really do. I get that she would want my mother to be the one to help her. But nobody asked me first."

"Hailey, Tamara would not know to ask you first. That's part of what your mother can help her with."

"You know, I always thought Mom was a little over the top with her blonde thing. But now I get it, totally. Excuse me General, I have to go stand guard duty."

Hailey shouldered her assault rifle and moved down the trench, vanishing into the darkness.

"Well, that could have gone a little better," John muttered in frustration.

 **TechCom Perimeter Patrol Camp – That Night …**

Ruth pushed the dirty shower curtain aside, entering the tiny dugout she and Hailey had dug for themselves. Hailey was curled up in the corner in her sleeping bag, face swollen and her eyes puffy from crying.

Without saying a word, Ruth sat down next to Hailey and hugged her tightly.

"I heard."

"Dad's being unreasonable. How could he ask me that?"

"Because he sees a need someone has and he wants to help that person. Did it occur to you he didn't have to ask? Adoption is no longer an issue when it comes to Terminators. You could have come home and found out you had a new sister."

"I don't want a sister," Hailey sniffed.

"Am I that bad," Ruth whispered, leaning into Hailey.

"You aren't my sister."

"I might as well be."

Hailey frowned at Ruth.

"You sound like you're taking Dad's side."

"I am. You should too."

"Ruth, let me say this again. I don't want a sister. What's more, she's a blonde. You know how much trouble they cause. Remember Rachel?"

"We're both adopted. We might not be alive were it not for our parents adopting us."

Hailey looked away, staring into the dark gloom of the dirt room.

"Tamara is a full size T-800. We had to physically grow up. She is 180 centimeters tall with a killer bod. You've seen the headlights she's packing. What's more, she has all the code and programing she needs to be a fully functional Terminator."

"Yeah, just like I had all my programming and code. We both know how hard growing up was for me, just like it was hard for you."

"I'm not changing my mind."

"You've heard all the awful stories from Sarah about how Cameron struggled. I mean, they're hilarious now, but I can't imagine it was pleasant for Cameron at the time. Besides, things were different back then."

"Ruth, shut up."

 **TechCom City – Female Military Barracks…**

Tamara placed her damp towel perfectly on the towel rack as per regulations. Dressed only in a pair of cotton shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt, she pulled her damp blonde hair into a ponytail and lay down on her bunk. She adjusted her censors to block out the sights, sounds and smells of the other females in the barracks as they settled in for their rest period.

Her bunkmates in the eight-bunk room were all human and Tamara was certain they resented her. Not because she was metal. They resented her for all the male attention she attracted without any effort. She knew the only reason her bunkmates didn't resort to physical pranks to torment her as was normal, was out of fear of her going crazy robot on them in response.

It frustrated her that she wanted to have a girl friend. Just as her bunkmates resented her, she resented their friendship with other personnel. They all routinely went out when off duty with other females or groups of friends. Tamara was always alone unless Brandon was off duty and could spend time with her.

Tamara had used her infiltration skills to sneak into the rehearsal area and watch Cameron dance. To her surprise, two human ballerinas made fun of Cameron constantly and Cameron did not react. In fact, Cameron insulted them in return and the trio often laughed. Sarah Connor had stopped by with Catherine Weaver and the five females had traded barbs and told a few stories while the humans ate during the break.

Watching from her hidden viewpoint, Tamara realized Cameron had friends besides her John. Close friends. The realization made her feel even more alone.

Five days remained until she had to report back to Commander Connor. Fortunately, Brandon had been sent on a long distance patrol and would not return in time for her to have the required conversation.

Tamara decided when she reported for her update she would ask Commander Connor about friends. It couldn't hurt.

Lying in perfect posture on her back, Tamara shut down her programs and entered Terminator Sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Changes**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own TSCC. If I did, it would at least be in production somewhere and Cameron would still be kicking someone or something's butt around.

This story is set in _**The Future Cameron's Universe**_ after _**Cameron's Revenge**_. It contains characters from my version of the TSCC universe starting with _**Cameron Grows Up.**_

 **TechCom Command Central…**

He would arrive in three minutes if he knew what was good for him and Cameron was fairly certain he did. Ruth would have made it very clear, just as Derek had. John had let his feelings be known. Sarah, hopeful of a wedding in the not too distant future, had abstained from any discussions with Ruth's Lt. Dan. Now the young officer had to face the clan matriarch.

At exactly 0905, as ordered, a knock resounded on Cameron's office door.

"Enter."

Ruth's Lt. Dan entered, closed the door behind him and came to attention, holding his salute.

Cameron responded by not looking up, increasing the young officer's anxiety slightly in the process.

"Sit."

"Yes, ma'am."

Cameron ignored the Lt. and continued working for nearly twelve minutes.

"You have asked for permission to become engaged to my sister-in-law?"

"Yes, Commander. Colonel Reese has granted permission as has the General."

"Now you seek my blessing as matriarch."

Uncertain if Cameron was making a statement or asking a question, the Lt. thought for a moment and decided it was better to answer as if he'd been asked a question.

"Yes, Commander."

"I wasn't asking you a question. That was a statement of fact."

"Yes, Commander."

"Why are you an appropriate mate for Ruth?"

"We love each other," Guderian replied firmly.

"That does not make you appropriate for each other," Cameron snapped back. "Your desire to take Ruth as a wife has implications for the clan and all of TechCom. You will become part of the ruling officer corp in time. Loving Ruth is not enough. She fully understands her obligations as an officer in the Infiltrators and as the daughter of Colonel Reese and Sarah Connor."

Guderian remained silent, struggling to retain his composure.

"We both serve. I understand what it means to live a life of service. It is why my relationship with Savannah Weaver did not last. Savannah could not cope with the fact I will serve as a professional soldier for my entire adult life. Ruth accepts this. She fears for my safety just as I fear for hers when she is on patrol or involved in combat of any kind. But I know Ruth has the same need to serve as I do. To deny her, as a T-1000, the opportunity to serve as an infiltrator would be wrong."

"You acknowledge yours will be a hybrid marriage."

"Yes, Commander."

"You are aware this will make your marriage more challenging."

"Yes, Commander."

"You feel you are up to the task of marrying a T-1000 female? Ruth is not your average Terminatress."

Cameron watched Guderian swallow as he considered his answer.

"Ma'am, to a male, all females are a handful when marriage is considered. Ruth is my best friend. I can communicate with her without saying a word. I think her base template is that of an amazingly beautiful woman. I appreciate the artistic streak she possesses. I have one myself. Beneath that sweet persona she projects is a strong willed female. Colonel Reese and Miss Sarah did an amazing job raising Ruth."

"What about children?"

"I'm an orphan. Ruth is adopted. We both understand what it means to have parents. I don't have any and Ruth comes from a very close, tightly knit one."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"We want to be parents."

Cameron stared in silence.

"You must produce offspring as members of the Connor Clan. You cannot have human children."

"You have a human child," Guderian snapped back.

Cameron smiled faintly, hoping to irritate the young officer into saying something regrettable.

"Indeed, I do. How do you plan to handle the relationship between Hailey and Ruth? You realize they are nearly inseparable."

Guderian glared in silence, not liking being baited by Cameron.

"Hailey means the world to Ruth. Marrying Ruth means accepting Hailey as part of the family."

"You still haven't answered my question concerning children."

The Lt. counted to ten as Ruth had ordered him when he felt like he was about to lose his temper.

"We would like to have at least one of each."

"One of each what? A boy and a girl? A human and a Terminator?"

"Both."

"I see," Cameron monotoned. "Why?"

"A boy and a girl, one human and one metal. It seemed like a good way to balance the family, to help each child adapt to the society they have to live in by having a family that reflects the makeup of TechCom."

"What if Ruth desires to mother a T-1000?"

"Then a T-1000 it will be."

"You realize T-1000s are far more dangerous than a typical Terminator."

"With all due respect Commander, you are the most dangerous Terminator ever assembled. Sarah Connor managed pretty well with you and obviously did an excellent job with Ruth. We would have an advantage over Sarah Connor. Ruth was raised her entire life in a mixed family. She has learned a great deal from you and Catherine Weaver about her nature and how to adapt to living with humans."

"How do we know the clan can trust you? Will you obey my orders as Matriarch? Will you accept your place in the command structure without question? Not only does the Connor clan bear the burden of command in the military, we must bear the burden of governing. The children you and Ruth raise must take their place in the chain of command one day in the future. Can I trust you to raise your children accordingly?"

"I came to the understanding early in our relationship that marrying Ruth meant marrying into the responsibilities Ruth must fulfill. I have no desire to become General. But I do have a strong desire to share Ruth's life with her. If that means sharing and easing her burden of leadership, then that is what I want to do."

"You will marry Ruth in the church," Cameron monotoned.

"If that is what Ruth wants."

"What Ruth wants is irrelevant," Cameron snapped. "Father Hidalgo performed the wedding rites for the General's marriage to me. He will do the same for Ruth. She will be married in the Church."

"What if Ruth doesn't want to?"

"Ruth will obey me."

The Lt. glared at Cameron defiantly.

"I don't think you quite understand how our family works," Cameron said firmly. "Marriage is for life. God created the union of male and female. Ruth will marry in the Church and make her vows before God and her family."

"Because you say so," Guderian snapped.

"Because it is the right thing to do AND because she will not receive my blessing unless she does. And THAT Lt. is something you had better get used to if you marry into our family. The General commands all of TechCom, including me. But when it comes to family and clan matters, I have the final say."

"I wonder if the General would agree with that statement," Guderian challenged.

Cameron pressed a button on her comm device on her desk. "John, would you please come to my office for just one minute."

Cameron stared at the Lt. without blinking until John arrived.

Guderian snapped to attention and saluted. John returned the salute and ordered the Lt. to stand at ease. He leaned over and kissed Cameron on the top of her head while she continued glaring at Guderian.

"Who has complete command authority over all of TechCom."

"I do," John replied.

"Who has the final say in all clan matters?"

John's head snapped around, his gaze drilling into Guderian.

"Do you have a death wish Lt? Because Ruth will be broken hearted if you don't at least live long enough to propose to her."

"Sir, I don't understand."

"Let me explain this to you. As the husband, you will be the head of the family, as I am. Cameron would, if it came to it, obey me if I disagreed with a decision she made as matriarch. You have received Derek's blessing as well as my blessing. If Cameron decides the marriage is not in the best interest of the family, our clan, then there will be no wedding and I trust her judgment in this matter. Defying her will result in consequences. Negative consequences."

The Lt. fumed in silence.

"If you marry my sister, then you marry into our clan structure. When you received your commission as an officer, it came with responsibilities and expectations, some of which you may not have agreed with. This is the way it is. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, a friendly piece of advice, when Cameron says do something, don't argue. You'll live a lot longer with all of your original body parts."

John looked at his wife.

"What are y'all arguing about?"

"The wedding will be in the Church."

For a second time, John's head snapped around.

"Church wedding. No discussion. Ruth has always wanted one. Cameron had one. Cameron insists on it. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, General. Church wedding."

"Good, I'm glad that's cleared up."

John kissed the top of Cameron's head again and departed in silence.

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Do you always get your way with the General?"

"No."

Cameron smiled playfully at the young officer.

"You have a lot to learn about how marriage works, Lt."

"Commander, without trying to be rude, do I have your permission to propose to Ruth?"

Cameron's blank expression appeared. She stared at Guderian for eleven minutes and twenty-one seconds without moving or blinking her eyes.

"Under the following conditions, I grant my blessing. You will not only marry in the Church, you will schedule counseling sessions with Father Hidalgo prior to the wedding. You will propose to Ruth within one week or less. Hailey must go on a long distance patrol in eight days and the two will want to celebrate the engagement together. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Now, a few other things. I am certain Colonel Reese has covered this as has the General, but I want to make it clear as well. If you cheat on Ruth, your death will be slow. Terminators are not cruel, so you will die at the hands of Ruth's father and my John. Sarah will probably be involved as well.

If you hit Ruth, not that you can hurt her physically, but if you hit Ruth, the same consequence will apply. If Ruth is unhappy in the marriage, you will answer to me."

"Yes, Commander."

"Do you still wish to marry Ruth?"

"If she will have me."

Cameron flashed a rare beaming smile as she stood and extended her slender hand.

"Welcome to the Connor Clan."

Ruth's Lt. shook Cameron's hand, saluted and departed.

Cameron sat down and called John.

"Well?"

"I hope Hailey can find as good a mate as Ruth has. He stood his ground. He understands the consequences of failure as a husband and it is clear he is devoted to Ruth. She has chosen her purpose well. Lt. Guderian will be an excellent addition to the clan and the leadership council when the time comes."

"That's good. Hailey told me Ruth was worried about your decision than Derek's."

Cameron let out a short laugh.

"General Connor himself did not intimidate the young Lt?"

John laughed. "It would seem not. I guess Ruth thought if Dan passed Derek's muster I was just a mere formality. You on the other hand, you caused her some concern."

"Good. Oh, you can tell Ruth her Lt. passed muster and she's going to get her Church wedding."

Cameron talked to her John for several more minutes about TechCom matters before ending the conversation.

As complicated as her marriage to her John had been, it had been a joyful union. It saddened Cameron that the lives of John's family were even more complicated now than before Judgment Day. Ruth dearly loved her Lt. and he clearly was the right human male for her to enter into marriage with.

The fact the "vetting" process was not about the marrying of a human and a metal, but involved the pressures of command seemed unjust to Cameron, but it was the world they now lived in.

Her CPU drifted to processing about Hailey. Cameron hoped the engagement would not strain the relationship of the two girls. Hailey was so competitive and when it came to Ruth, the dominant Hailey actually felt threatened and insecure at times. A fact nobody had realized until the Old Man had pointed it out to the girl's parents.

Hailey's strength was her personality. She loved being in charge, the center of attention and controlling situations. Ruth had always been Hailey's special project. The fact the shy Ruth would marry first could cause a rift between the two.

Ruth's strength was in her inner strength of character, her artist's soul, as John liked to describe it. Ruth was selfless by nature where Hailey had struggled to learn empathy and humility. Hailey they had learned knew all too well that Ruth was her match and more in many ways.

Despite their nearly identical chronological age, there was no doubt Ruth had matured much faster than Hailey as a person, a gap that would persist for several more years in all likelihood.

Perhaps she should have a mother daughter talk with Hailey as soon as possible. The future of TechCom relied on the two girls and the strength of their relationship. They were next in line for command.

John had assured Cameron that Ruth's terminator nature would in the end save the girl's relationship. Needing to reassure herself, Cameron pulled up the file of the conversation.

"Ruth's not like most Terminators. She has never waivered in her stance that her life purpose is to serve as Hailey's protector."

"Lt. Dan is her purpose now."

"He certainly is. And they will have children, which means Ruth will struggle with adjusting to that as well. But in the end, she will always need to protect Hailey, just like Hailey will always try to take care of Ruth socially. This is not about the relationship of a Terminator and the human they protect. This about our girls and how much they love each other."

"I don't know John. There will be conflict and the thought of the girls being at odds with each other concerns me."

"It should. But they are family and those two have grown up knowing the responsibilities our family has. Look, my mom is a little crazy and Derek can be awful. Who would have thought we would have a T-600 help raise the girls? But our family, as dysfunctional as it is, is tight knit and close."

"You are certain?" Cameron asked tentatively.

John kissed his wife's nose as they lay together. "Would Hailey Connor EVER let an other female be the Maid of Honor in Ruth's wedding?"

Cameron had frowned in response, trying to communicate to her John the need for him to take her concerns seriously.

"Oh, c'mon Cameron. Catherine Weaver is going to have her hands full trying to orchestrate the wedding with Hailey involved. She would never let Ruth have anything less than a perfect wedding. Especially if she can share the limelight and attention with Ruth."

Cameron sat and processed the file several more times.

Her John was right she concluded. Hailey would be crushed if she could not be there for Ruth. She would also be crushed if she wasn't part of the biggest social event of the year in TechCom City. What's more, Cameron realized, Hailey would want Ruth to have an over the top wedding and celebration. If for no other reason that it would give Hailey something to shoot for when she wed.

Cameron decided a talk was necessary. To make sure Hailey was okay with not being the first to the altar and to make sure she kept herself in check in regards to Ruth's wedding. It was after all Ruth's special day.

"And Sarah's special day too," Cameron said aloud softly. "Both of her children will have married well and will have strong marriages to carry them through the trials of life."

 **TechCom Female Barracks…**

Ruth entered the small, dark room she shared with Hailey and silently shut the door behind her. The light instantly came on as Hailey sat bolt upright in her bunk.

"Well? Did he pass muster with Mom? Did he?"

Ruth sat her things down slowly with her back turned to Hailey. She spun around and hugged her closest friend and family member tightly.

"He survived intact and Cameron said yes!"

The two girls let out a squeal that was certain to have awakened other female personnel in the barracks.

"Church wedding? I know he was being a turd about it to you!"

"Church wedding!"

"I knew Mom would make your Lt. see things her way!"

The two hugged a second time. Ruth broke the embrace and looked at Hailey somberly.

"This is not going to be a problem between us?"

"I was jealous for a little bit," Hailey admitted with a sad expression. "I mean, I'm the oldest and the more outgoing of the two of us. I had to prod you along with every boy and it just hurt a little."

"But you're okay now?"

Hailey nodded. "I need to grow up. If I'm going to be General one day, I have to be happy for my Commander when she finds the right mate."

"You're happy for me?"

"You don't know how much! Besides, as Maid of Honor I intend to prod Catherine every step of the way to make sure you have the best wedding TechCom has ever seen!"

Ruth punched Hailey on the shoulder and laughed.

"Yeah, only so you can have a bigger and more lavish wedding."

"Oh, I'm wounded," Hailey exclaimed, dramatically clutching her chest over her heart as she fell backwards onto her bunk. She winked at Ruth. "You know me so well."

Ruth flopped down next to Hailey and a fit of the giggles overcame the two like they were little girls again.

"Hey! Keep in down in there! Some of us have to report for duty in a few hours!"

"When is he going to pop the question?" Hailey whispered in between giggles.

"My guess is before you leave on patrol. Cameron would kill him if he doesn't. She would never want her baby to miss out on this. Besides, Mom can't hold on too much longer. It's killing her worse than it is me. Dad has been complaining for the last month Sarah's about to drive him crazy over this engagement stuff."

The pair fell silent for a few minutes.

"How did movie night go?" Ruth asked.

Hailey grinned. "He kissed me good night!"

"Really? Is he a good kisser?"

"Yep. He's a good kisser during movies too!"

"Hailey! If John catches the two of you, you'll be back to ground zero again!"

"It's not Dad I'm worried about," Hailey giggled. "It's the Old Man. I think he's secretly disappointed he never got to terminate one of the boys that pursued us. Like somehow, it makes him less of our protector."

Ruth giggled again and covered her mouth.

"Well, he does have a reputation to maintain Hailey."

Silence fell over the girls again as both thought about the futures that lay before them.

"Promise me you'll always be my protector when we're really grown up," Hailey whispered.

"I promise," Ruth said firmly. "Besides, once we have kids, the Old Man will be too busy to protect you any more."

"Yeah. He will be."

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron versus the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron versus Derek (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past and Present - A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron's Treasures (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own TSCC. Wish I did. It would be on Netflix or something like that._

This story is set in _**The Future Cameron's Universe**_ after _**Cameron's Revenge**_. It contains characters from my version of the TSCC universe starting with _**Cameron Grows Up.**_

As she waited for Mary, Grace and the other dancers to arrive, Cameron watched John Henry closely while his mother Catherine inspected the final finishing details of the new TechCom Fine Arts Performance Center.

Humans, and to be honest, most Terminators, watching John Henry and his blank expression would come to the conclusion his mother's inspection was of no consequence to him. Cameron on the other hand knew her friend well enough to see the tiny, but nonetheless present signs that John Henry was feeling a bit of anxiety.

His jaw occasionally clinched for less than a second and John Henry would nervously rub his left thumb against the side of his left forefinger.

Cameron knew what he was worried about.

Catherine had insisted the craftsmen who completed the finishing work on the hall be a mix of humans and Terminators. Humans, who no matter how hard they tried could not create a perfect object nor apply a perfect finish. Terminators, who no matter how hard the tried, could not introduce the slight imperfections human's produced. The result, in Cameron's eyes, was amazing detail work and a finish that rivaled the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The team of mixed race craftsman had produced a building of fantastic beauty and amazing sound quality, striking the perfect balance between perfection and the flaws that create natural beauty.

As a dancer, Cameron understood flaws in perfection is what made each dancer's performance unique and special. Of all the skills she'd had to master as a dancer, this had been the most difficult, how to mimic human imperfection as a machine in order to create beauty that was her own to share. It made her a rarity among her kind, a rarity Ruth shared as well.

John Henry simply had no real interest in architectural beauty, but Catherine did which was fortunate Cameron thought. She had learned to appreciate the creativity and beauty humans seemed compelled to bring into a world they also filled with monstrous destruction and cruelty. It was one of the paradoxical contradictions that made humans human.

As a machine designed to kill, Cameron had long ago learned she had an intense need, similar in many ways to a human, to create beauty and share it. Her John had asked her once why dance was such a compulsion for her at times. Her only explanation was it was a way to atone for the horrible side of her personality, that it balanced her.

Cameron watched John Henry relax as Catherine walked away briskly towards the main exit of the hall. Evidently there were only a few perfections she wanted dealt with.

Returning to her career as a professional dancer for a second time, Cameron considered her reasons for doing so. She was a different machine now, a different person in fact. Perhaps her motives were different as well. She still loved to rehearse and enjoyed the company of her two longtime friends Mary and Grace. The planning that had fallen to her in her new role as the head of the company was another newfound aspect she loved.

Her John had teased her of late that she liked sharing her passion for dance, a particularly human trait. Cameron frowned for a brief second as her CPU processed the file of the argument that had ensued as a result of the last bout of teasing.

"I'm not human John and I don't want to be."

Her John had laughed at her and smiled his grin that never failed to annoy her when that was his objective.

"Didn't say you were Cameron. Just said you were becoming more human in your personality at times."

The fact her immediate family had been present at the dinner she had given to celebrate Ruth's engagement only served to irritate her more. Hailey and jumped into the fray, giving examples of how her mother had changed over the years. Derek had been unable to resist and threw a few barbs her way as well.

Ruth, the most human like of all the Terminators in TechCom, had pushed Cameron over the edge with a couple of barbed comments about how Cameron had either improved as a dancer in working infinitesimal flaws into her skills as a dancer or her body was beginning to shows signs of wear due to age.

While the entire family laughed, Cameron's HUD had quickly provided her options to express her irritation. She'd picked dumping John's dinner over his head and leaving the family bunker to patrol the city.

Sliding into bed next to her John in the middle of the night, Cameron had been surprised to find John awake. Reviewing the file of the memory made Cameron smile at her John's bravery, stupidity or mixture of both.

"Throwing a plate of food on the top of my head because you're irritated just further proves my point," he had whispered.

Cameron decided it wasn't stupidity, but rather her John's need to win the argument. He was right and she hated to admit it.

" _I'm different now,"_ Cameron thought as she watched Mary and Grace lead in the young dancers for rehearsal. _"I'm still a machine, a Terminator, but I'm different."_

 **TechCom Command Central…**

Cameron's office door burst open and a black blur sped in and began turning in a tight circle. Cameron waited for several seconds to see if Ruth would stop walking in a tight circle before commanding the young Terminatress to halt.

"Ruth!"

Ruth abruptly stopped, her face morphed into a display of concern. "Dad messaged me. Mom's sick and he's taking her to the Medical Complex. He said for me to tell you and bring John. I can't find John! What am I going to do?"

"First, be calm. Sarah is going where she needs to be. Dr. Johnson will provide Sarah with the best care available. Your father is with her. Acting like a human female is not going to help the situation. We will go and locate our John."

Annoyed at Cameron's comment, Ruth stomped her foot and glared. "You act crazy when something is wrong with John so don't you dare say that to me when my mom gets sick! What if it's the cancer again?"

Surprised by Ruth's petulance, Cameron paused to process the situation. Ruth was correct in her statement Cameron realized. Injury to John or serious illness always upset her and unbalanced her ability to process normally. Despite the long period of remission Sarah had enjoyed, it was always a concern the cancer would return.

"I apologize Ruth. You are correct. I do not behave in a logical or rational manner when something is wrong with my John. And yes, this is disconcerting news." Cameron paused and processed how the news would impact her John. She grew more alarmed and concerned as she considered the possibilities. "Now I'm getting worried," Cameron stated. "Come with me. We will find our John."

 **TechCom Medical…**

Walking in her measured, steady pace, Cameron let her John and his sister Ruth run ahead of her as the trio neared the corridor leading to the medical complex. As the pair vanished from Cameron's immediate view, the sound of her name being called stopped her.

"Mom! Mom, wait!"

Cameron turned to watch Hailey running from the opposite corridor towards her, still wearing her fatigues from standing guard in the above ground defensive works protecting TechCom City.

"Mom, is Grandma okay?"

"I don't know. Ruth simply said Sarah had taken ill and Derek had rushed her to the medical complex. I went with Ruth to find your father. They are already inside. That is all I know."

Her dirty cheeks marked with tear tracks, Hailey took Cameron's hand and squeezed it.

"I want Grandma to be okay."

Cameron hugged her adopted daughter close, noting Hailey was finally the same height as her.

"I want Grandma to be okay too. I'm not ready for Sarah to go. There is much she has yet to teach me."

Squeezing Hailey's hand in return, Cameron gently pulled the young woman along with her, entering the main area of the medical complex.

A nurse was waiting to lead them to the area where Sarah was being examined, leaving them without speaking. John emerged from the examining area with tear tracks gleaming on his cheeks.

"How is Sarah," Cameron monotoned.

"Doctor Johnson doesn't know. Mom's having trouble breathing and her blood oxygen levels are low. Derek's had to take Ruth to another examining room to calm her down. Ruth was upsetting Mom because of she couldn't stop crying."

"T-1000's can't cry John," Cameron monotoned.

"Want to bet? Ruth may not have been shedding liquid tears but she was doing everything else, including losing control over her preferred form."

"That would be upsetting for Sarah," Cameron remarked. "Is she alone?"

"Yes, Mom threw everyone out."

Cameron nodded and let go of Hailey's hand, walking brusquely past her John and entering the examining area before he could react. Locating the door to the examining room Sarah was in, Cameron entered silently.

Sarah looked pale as she lay in the bed, her brow glistening with sweat, gluing wispy strands of her black hair to her forehead and cheeks. She blinked several times, struggling to focus on the new arrival in her room. An IV ran to her arm and wires led to a variety of monitors, displaying all of her vital signs for anyone to see.

"Tin Miss," Sarah whispered, reaching for Cameron with a trembling hand.

Moving quickly to Sarah's side, Cameron gently took the offered hand in her own. Sarah waited patiently in silence, knowing Cameron's compulsion to scan her was uncontrollable for her son's wife.

"Your heart rate is elevated, blood oxygen is low, breathing is shallow and rapid. You have a fever and are still dehydrated though the IV fluid will rectify that. Blood pressure is fluctuating."

Sarah smiled at her daughter-in-law. "Some things never change Tin Miss. You have never been able to sugar coat things."

"Sarah…"

"Enough. Is Hailey here?"

"Yes."

"After she visits, please relieve her from duty and have Hailey stay with Ruth until my daughter can regain her composure. Lt. Dan is on a long distance patrol until the middle of next week. I don't want Ruth to be alone and Derek is a wreck. I know you will take care of our John, but please, for me, check on Derek regularly. Have Father Hidalgo check on him as well. The Old Man promised me he'd watch Derek, but I know he will obey Derek if ordered to leave our bunker or wherever Derek is."

"I will make certain your wishes are addressed. Everyone in the family will be cared for."

Sarah closed her eyes and nodded weakly.

"I know. I'm counting on you girly."

Cameron stood still as only she could, monitoring Sarah as she slipped into a restless sleep, tears running down her own cheeks.

"You can't go Sarah. I'm not ready for you to go."

Reviews are appreciated.

Please consider reading my other TSCC stories:

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron versus the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron versus Derek (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past and Present - A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron's Treasures (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own TSCC

This story is set in _**The Future Cameron's Universe**_ after _**Cameron's Revenge**_. It contains characters from my version of the TSCC universe starting with _**Cameron Grows Up.**_

Pressure on her left side woke Sarah up. Sweat made her hair cling to her cheeks and forehead. Her hospital gown felt particularly damp and sticky on the left side of her body. Her mind cleared as she became more fully awake, allowing her to feel the weight of the arm across her chest, fingers of a hand slightly cupping her right breast. Sarah shifted to get more comfortable, realizing Derek was curled up next to her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Don't get any ideas," Sarah murmured. "I feel awful and what makes you think I want to do that in the hospital?"

Turning her head to focus a nasty look in her husband's direction, Sarah was startled to see Cameron lift her head and gaze back at her.

"I did not mean to displease you Sarah," Cameron said somberly. "I felt, disoriented seeing you like this, like before John and I married. When we lived in the house in L.A. Sometimes you would let me lie next to you and it helped."

Sarah looked at Cameron in silence for a moment before lifting the cyborg's arm gently from her chest and moving it towards Cameron, placing the arm on Cameron's own side.

"Then what was the idea of groping me?"

"I was scanning your lung while I tried to process everything. This is very disconcerting Sarah. The entire family is upset and I was ill prepared to deal with this situation. Since I can multi-task, I conducted a deep scan while I tried to compose myself."

"Compose yourself?"

Cameron blinked twice, startling Sarah again.

"I still need you to teach me Sarah. You are the closest thing to a mother I will ever experience. I don't like the idea of you going away. It is unsettling to me and everyone in the family."

"It's unsettling to me too Tin Miss," Sarah laughed.

"The deep scan revealed a mass in your lung beneath your right breast. I am hopeful it is not cancerous. The mass has a large abscess and your lungs appear to be filled with infection that would account for your condition. This will show up I am certain on the blood tests and x-rays Dr. Johnson had conducted. They will confirm my basic diagnosis."

"Dr. Cameron," Sarah said, frowning at Cameron.

"Sarah, don't be displeased. You know I have detailed medical files as part of my programming."

"I know, so you can kill humans more efficiently," Sarah snapped.

Cameron pulled her head back quickly, a flash of hurt appearing on her face for an instant.

"I will go. You are annoyed with me."

Carefully, Cameron slipped out of the bed before adjusting Sarah's pillows and covering her with the light blanket on the bed. Taking a cloth from the hanger by the sink, Cameron ran cool water on it, folded it and laid it a cross Sarah's throat.

"That will help you feel cooler. I will make sure Derek eats a meal and that Hailey stays with Ruth tonight. John will be okay Sarah. I will have him give the Old Man a direct order to watch Derek so Derek cannot override the order. I will monitor John for nightmares tonight and make certain he rests properly."

Cameron turned to go.

"Wait."

Cameron turned her head to look over her shoulder at Sarah.

"I'm really sick Cameron and I'm scared. It's upsetting for my daughter-in-law to tell me what's wrong with me."

Confused, Cameron tilted her head to the side.

"I forget sometimes you're a Terminator. You can't help being so direct."

Cameron straightened her head and nodded her understanding.

"Come here," Sarah ordered, motioning for Cameron to come to her and lean over. Reaching up with her hand, Sarah gently laid it on Cameron's cheek.

"You've changed so much. Sometimes I forget what you are. I only see my son's wife most of the time these days. Okay?"

Cameron nodded again, remaining silent. Sarah's words had an unsettling effect on her CPU's processing, causing it to begin opening a variety of files and subroutines. The result was the inevitable rapid, uncontrolled opening and closing of Cameron's left hand. She gently took Sarah's hand and laid it back on the bed and covered it.

Without saying a word she left and hurried towards the nurse's station to leave a detailed report for Dr. Johnson based on her deep scan. As soon as she finished the download, Cameron hurried out of the medical complex and made her way to one of the surface tunnels.

Within minutes she was marching through the freezing cold of a winter night in the eternal darkness of the Wastelands over TechCom City. Ignoring the defenders manning the surface defenders, Cameron made her way quickly through the minefields and assorted obstacles, hurrying into the eerie lands surrounding TechCom City.

Finding a concrete wall running along the remains of a sidewalk, Cameron sat down and began the process of shutting down all subroutines and programs not essential for her optimal functioning at that moment.

All except for the one component Cameron had struggled to gain control over without ever mastering it.

Her emotion generator.

Looking up at the black sky, Cameron opened her mouth and let a fearful wail escape. Tears came unbidden and Cameron did nothing to try to stop them. After five minutes and twenty-eight seconds Cameron stopped the emotional display.

She stood up and wiped her face and adjusted her clothing.

Her CPU was functioning normally and she felt more in control.

"I must return and care for the family. It is what Sarah wishes."

Making her way back through the defensive perimeter, a young Lt. approached Cameron slowly.

"Commander? Are you okay? We heard some horrible sound while you were beyond the perimeter. Perhaps it was a predator hunting."

Cameron stared at the young Lt, nearly unnerving him with her infamous stare.

"Thank you for your concern Lt, but the only predator present was me."

 **TechCom Medical…**

Hailey sat staring at the door leading to the operating room where Sarah was having the necrotic lung tissue removed. She sat holding Ruth's hand, praying her grandmother would survive the surgery and recover. Standing next to the door was her father and mother, John and Cameron, talking quietly to Derek. Hailey watched as Cameron gave Derek an awkward hug.

 _My family is so odd_ , Hailey thought. _Only John and Grandma really belong together. My mother is metal, my aunt and best friend is metal and my step-grandfather is a metal hater._

"And I couldn't have a better family if I wanted," Hailey whispered aloud as she watched the Old Man enter and walk to a corner where the old T-600 took up his normal stance as he stood watching, standing guard in silence over those who he had made it his purpose to protect. Loyalty that had earned him clan status, something he had never sought but treasured dearly.

Hailey thought back to the memory of her childhood when she'd asked in a fit of anger with her overprotective metal nanny just why did The Old Man feel the need to serve the Connor family. She'd never forgotten his response.

"You father returned my dignity to me."

John had given the old T-600 a purpose, a reason to exist and a way to serve. As an adult Hailey understood now what that meant to her lifelong protector. What it meant to every Terminator. What it meant to humans.

The only thing more important than purpose was belonging. Cameron and John had given her that gift, the gift of belonging to a family. Glancing at Ruth who looked positively ghastly, even for a T-1000, Hailey realized her patchwork family was bound together far more tightly than families whose bonds were purely of blood relation.

"Ruth, pull yourself together. When your Lt. returns, he'll want to see his pretty fiancée. Besides, Grandma will skin you if she sees you looking like that."

"Easy for you to say," Ruth snarled.

"That's my grandma having surgery, not just your mom."

"I'm sorry," Ruth muttered.

"Hey, I been thinking about this for awhile," Hailey said. "You remember when Dad came up to our position on the perimeter a while ago?"

"To see you about letting Sgt. Tamara being taken into our clan? Yeah, I remember. You were opposed to it. Big time and John and Cameron let the matter drop."

"Well, I've been thinking. It's not like we'd be getting a sister you know? I haven't changed my mind about that. It's not like the Old Man is our uncle or anything, but he is family and I can't imagine not having him around, even though he's a pain half the time."

Ruth sat up and focused, her face morphing back to its normal coloring.

"So you've changed your mind?"

"Maybe. I just don't want a sister. You're enough trouble."

Hailey and Ruth grinned at each other and squeezed tightly each other's hand.

"A cousin?"

"No. Not even. But she needs to belong. If Cameron hadn't forced the issue on me being adopted, who knows how awful my life would be. If she hadn't gotten grandma and Derek to marry and adopt you, we wouldn't have each other, now would we Bestie?"

"No, I suppose not," Ruth replied.

"Tamara needs to belong too. Besides, it would help Mom get over her Riley issues."

Ruth grinned. "You haven't told her about your Carl yet have you?"

"That has nothing to do with it," Hailey snapped. "But now that you mention it, Tamara might help Mom deal with Carl's blonde hair, you know? It can't hurt."

"Sarah would like this. Let's go talk to our parents. It'll give them something else to think about while Mom's in surgery.

 **TechCom Command…**

Cameron checked her internal chronometer. Wilhelm would arrive in two minutes exactly. Sgt. Tamara would arrive one minute after that. Tamara's Brandon would arrive in the vicinity of five minutes after Tamara but given the nonprecise time telling of most humans Tamara's young man could arrive sooner. Cameron was certain he wouldn't be late.

Wilhelm entered and sat down without asking any questions. One minute later a knock on the office door indicated Sgt. Tamara had arrived. She entered and sat as directed without speaking. Wilhelm smiled for a second and pulled a cigar from inside his jacket. He bit the end off and spit it in the garbage can by Cameron's desk before lighting up. Within a minute a bright orange ember glowed at the end of the cigar.

Ignoring the pungent smelling smoke, Cameron counted the seconds until Tamara's Brandon knocked and requested permission to enter.

 _Thirty-two seconds early, there is hope for him._

"Enter."

Brandon entered as ordered, closed the door behind him and came to attention standing directly in front of Cameron's desk.

"Reporting as ordered Commander Connor."

Cameron ignored the Airborne trooper and read from her tablet. Wilhelm remained silent, puffing on his cigar. Tamara stared at the floor, uncertain how to act and even more uncertain of what was about to take place.

Twenty-one minutes exactly had passed when Cameron looked up.

"Do you know why you are here Trooper?"

"No Ma'am."

"I would imagine not."

Cameron stood and walked to the front of her desk and sat on the edge. Wilhelm stood up, causing Brandon to notice his presence for the first time.

Cameron pointed to the corner of her office behind Brandon.

"Look."

The young paratrooper looked behind him and was surprised to see Tamara sitting silently with her gaze still fixed on the office floor.

Turning quick to face Cameron again, Brandon shook his head in confusion.

"Why is Tamara here Commander?"

"Because you are a dishonorable trooper."

"Dishonorable? I haven't done anything to warrant that accusation Commander."

"Sgt. Tamara, please stand," Cameron ordered.

Tamara obeyed, her gaze still fixed on the floor.

"What is Sgt. Tamara's last name?"

Brandon glanced at Wilhelm's whose sole response was to inhale on his cigar, making the orange ember grow in size and burn with more intensity.

"She doesn't have one Commander."

"Why is that?"

"She belongs to no clan or family."

"And as such, you have no obligation in regard to her status."

Cameron reached behind her and picked up a file. She opened it and produced a document that she placed on her desk. Picking up a pen Cameron turned to face Tamara, her hand extended, holding the pen out.

"Sgt. Tamara, you will sign the document. Colonel Wilhelm, would you be so kind as to witness her signature?"

Tamara stepped forward and took the pen from Cameron, scanning the document in an instant. With a look of confusion and concern, she stepped back from the desk.

"I cannot sign this Commander Connor."

"You can and you will. That is a director order," Cameron monotoned.

Tamara looked at Brandon, her head now tilted in confusion. He said nothing and his face gave her no sign of what he was thinking. Tamara turned and signed the document in silence and returned to her chair.

Wilhelm stepped forward in silence and signed as the witness. Cameron glanced at the document before returning it to the folder.

"The situation has now changed trooper."

"I'm confused Commander. I have no idea what just happened."

"Tamara, inform the trooper what your last name is."

Without looking up Tamara replied softly yet with surprising firmness in her voice.

"I am of the Clan Connor now."

For a brief second, a grin appeared on Wilhelm's face as he stepped next to the now frightened paratrooper, the glowing ember of his cigar now so close to Brandon's face the human could feel the heat.

"Despite the fact she is a blonde bitch whore, Sgt. Tamara's social life now falls under my jurisdiction of the Connor Clan as matriarch. In fact, if you wish to continue to see the good Sgt. you must pay a visit to my husband soon for permission to do so.

"I don't understand," Brandon protested.

"It's simple. She now bears the last name of my family. You will no longer date her unless your intentions are honorable. Tamara has bonded with you. Do you fully understand what that means?"

"I'm not sure Commander, but I can assure you, I haven't done anything inappropriate with Tamara. She made it clear early in our relationship that was more or less off the table, I mean beyond kissing, but nothing else. She is a Terminatress Commander Connor. I don't have a death wish."

"When a Terminator bonds with a human of the opposite gender, that human becomes the purpose of the Terminator, or in this case, Terminatress. To put it in human terms, Tamara loves you. If you break up with her, she will suffer considerable distress that could corrupt her programming. She might go bad. Do you know what happens to a Terminator when they go bad?"

"Yes, Commander. They are deactivated and burned with thermite."

"If nothing can be done to help the Terminator recover, that is exactly what happens. Do you know what would happen to you as a result should Tamara go bad as a result of you hurting her?"

"Why would anything happen to me," the puzzled trooper asked, sweat pouring down his face from the combination of nerves and heat from Wilhelm's cigar.

"Because, you caused her to go bad," Wilhelm said firmly, startling Brandon. "If she is terminated, you will be guilty of negligent Terminatorcide. You will go to prison. If she goes completely bad and goes on a rampage, you will be found guilty of manslaughter for the victims she terminates as well as Terminatorslaughter. If you are lucky you will be banished to the Wastelands. You won't last long there."

"At the moment," Cameron monotoned, "we can help Tamara. She would recover after suffering considerable anxiety and probably faulty code being written into her programming. Terminators with free will and in read/write mode learn to feel trooper. Especially ones like Tamara who have emotion generators."

"Look, I thought she just wanted to have fun," Brandon protested fearfully.

"Did you ever ask Tamara if she felt differently?"

"No. It never came up."

"Well," Cameron snapped suddenly, moving to within inches of Brandon's face, "it has come to my attention Sgt. Tamara does in fact, as you put it, feel differently."

A bead of sweat ran down the ridge of Brandon's nose, pausing for just a second and pooling at the tip before falling to the floor.

"You have 24 hours to rectify this situation trooper. When dismissed, you will take Sgt. Tamara for dinner where you will discuss how she feels about the relationship. Then you will take her for a long walk in Central Park and discuss how you feel about the relationship. At the end of your allotted 24 hours, you will report to my office to inform me of your decision. You have two choices to select from. You may end the relationship and suffer no disciplinary action. If you choose to continue the relationship, you do so with the understanding it is with the intent to marry her and join our clan. If the relationship fails later, you may approach the General and discuss the matter with him. This will allow us to prevent Tamara from going bad. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Commander Connor. Perfectly clear."

"Tamara."

The T-800 stood up.

"Do you have anything you wish to add?"

"Brandon, this is my fault. I was supposed to talk to you about how I feel, but I was too frightened. I thought you would end our relationship if I told you how I feel."

"Supposed to talk to me?"

"Commander Connor ordered me to do so. I came to her for wisdom. She has a successful marriage with a human. I didn't know who else to seek counsel from."

Brandon looked back at Cameron, understanding filling his face as the cause for his predicament became clear.

"That makes sense," he said.

"You are displeased with me," Tamara blurted out.

"A little, but not because of what you probably think. You should have talked to me. We talk about everything else," he said gently. "I mean, I understand why you came to the Commander, but I wouldn't have just ended our relationship out of hand because of how you feel about me."

"Enough," Cameron ordered. "Leave. Report back in 24 hours."

Brandon jumped slightly and Tamara looked back down at the floor. The pair turned and left together with Brandon closing the door behind them.

Cameron returned to her desk chair and sat down. Wilhelm promptly ground the end of his cigar into his palm, extinguishing it.

"I think that went well," he monotoned.

"Hopefully. Your paratrooper was not angry with Tamara when he learned the source of his predicament. Humans are too unpredictable to know what will transpire in the next 24 hours but I feel good about the likely outcome."

Wilhelm nodded in agreement.

"Should the relationship workout, I plan to transfer Sgt. Tamara from the Infantry to the Silver Brigade. Another pairing between the Silvers and the Airborne would be good for both units and my clan."

"Derek will not have a problem with the transfer?"

"No. Too many human males are attracted to Tamara. She is better off in the Silvers. If her mate is in the Airborne, the mixed pairing will not be an issue."

Wilhelm looked at Cameron and tilted his head, irritating her.

"I thought the issue of mixed species marriages was no longer a major issue."

"It isn't," Cameron replied. "Human males competing for a desirable female mate is. Some human males understand the positives of having a Terminatress for a wife, and, let's face it. Tamara is very attractive from a human perspective. She will become a distraction should she be promoted to the officer corps. Derek has enough to deal with. He doesn't need that type of issue in the TechCorps."

 **Connor Family Bunker…**

John felt the tension leave his back as Cameron rubbed his shoulders. It had been one of the longest and most stressful days he'd had in a long time. Sarah had survived the surgery but would have to adapt to life with half of one lung missing. She was responding well to the massive dose of antibiotic administered to her. Dr. Johnson's concern now was determining the cause of the infection that had led to the abscess and necrotic mass of tissue in her lung.

TechCom's top doctor had not said anything in particular, but John sensed the doctor was concerned about the source of the infection, that it was not something ordinary. That had led John's paranoia to lead him to think it was some form of weaponized bacteria.

He trusted the doctor enough to know his silence was due to a desire not to unduly alarm John and Derek and the rest of Sarah's family. As soon as Dr. Johnson knew something definitive he would alert John.

John decided as Cameron moved her hands to his lower back he was going to have a talk with the doctor. If it was a weaponized bacteria or virus, TechCom City was at risk and he had to know so steps could be taken to prevent another occurrence. Better to be safe than sorry.

"It went okay with Tamara today," Cameron suddenly informed him.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to ask."

"It was a good distraction for me. I am not ready for Sarah to go."

"Nobody is ready for Mom to die Cameron."

"I understand a little better why humans do things to distract themselves when under stress."

John lay in silence, enjoying his wife's gentle but strong hands working out the tension in his back.

"You don't exercise enough."

Not wanting to have that argument, John hoped to divert Cameron quickly before she locked in on the topic.

"How did Tamara's Brandon handle being ambushed by both you and Wilhelm?"

"Reasonably well. He will protect Tamara's emotions and their relationship if he decides to pursue her as a wife. She will physically protect him and any offspring they adopt."

"How did Tamara respond to her new found clan status?"

"She was surprised and a bit confused."

"But she did sign the papers."

"After I ordered her to do so."

"So, you're saying she didn't want to?"

"No. I think the possibility of having a family name was something she never considered. To be adopted into the most powerful clan in TechCom was even more unlikely."

"That would make sense. I would be surprised if I was her as well."

"When she informed her Brandon what had transpired, Tamara was not defiant or boastful, but there was a strength in her voice that pleased me. She had accepted the offer to be of our clan internally in her CPU, it became part of her identity programming that quickly."

Cameron got off John's hips and went to check on Hailey and Ruth in their daughter's room. Derek had stayed with Sarah in the hospital. At John's order, the Old Man had remained to keep an eye on Derek to make sure he rested and that any would be killer was kept away from Sarah.

The light flicked off and John felt Cameron slip into their bed. He rolled over onto his back and pulled the covers up as Cameron snuggled close to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"No scan?" he teased.

"I've scanned you constantly for the past twenty minutes."

"Oh, I see."

"We both need rest. This has been a stressful day."

"How are the girls?"

"They are talking about Catherine's preliminary plans for the wedding. So far Sarah is pleased and Ruth is happy with the details. Hailey hates the gowns the bridesmaids are to wear and is planning to stage a revolt and have the design changed. Ruth is advising Hailey in regards to strategy."

"So they're behaving normally in other words."

"Yes. This is a good distraction for the girls."

"I can think of a good distraction."

"No, John! Sexbot and wife both are not in the mood."

John responded to Cameron's rebuff with an exaggerated sigh.

"Very well. Message received."

He was surprised Cameron moved closer and hugged him.

"This has been a hard day."

"I know."

"I love you. You love me," she whispered.

"You love me. I love you," John replied.

He felt his wife's body shiver for a second, indicating Cameron had entered Terminator sleep.

Cameron's rebuff hadn't surprised him. In fact, he wasn't in the mood himself. John had only wanted to irritate Cameron a little before they went to sleep, or at least before he went to sleep and Cameron got up and did what ever it was she had planned.

For Cameron to be that stressed, it had been a troubling day for her. Sarah's surgery was clearly a source of stress and the surprise of Hailey informing John and Cameron she was okay with Tamara being taken into the clan had been a pleasant one. John knew Cameron liked Tamara despite her blonde hair and magnificent figure. He knew his wife identified with the T-800's need to belong and the confusion that went with not understanding the need even existed.

It came to him. Cameron suspected something was amiss as to the cause of Sarah's illness.

It would hardly be the first time she kept something from him in order to not worry him.

As drowsiness overwhelmed him, John decided Cameron would coming along with him, whether or not she wanted to, when he visited Dr. Johnson in the morning.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron versus the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron versus Derek (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past and Present - A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron's Treasures (short story)**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own TSCC

Having successfully begged off duty for the day, Hailey had made her way over to the Medical Complex. Ruth had informed her that morning Sarah's results from her surgery would be ready. Knowing her parents had ordered her to report for duty to keep her from worrying hadn't helped Hailey's disposition any, making it that much easier for her CO to send her packing.

Sarah's health was a matter of concern for every citizen of TechCom City, whether Sarah liked it or not.

Hailey spotted her family waiting in the hall outside of ICU, undoubtedly waiting for Dr. Johnson to talk to them. John was pacing about while Derek was watching him, irritated by John's seemingly compulsive need to move about. The Old Man stood perfectly still in the corner, for intents and purposes appearing to have been shut down. Hailey knew better, the ever so faint red glow emanating from the cyborg's optics alerted her to the fact The Old Man was fully alert and ready to attack or protect at the slightest provocation.

Cameron sat perfectly still, her gaze directed at the door Dr. Johnson would eventually emerge from. Ruth sat next to Cameron, looking rather pale and ill at ease.

For the second time in as many days, Hailey reflected on the oddness of her family. Cameron was a machine. Ruth was a collection of microscopic machines. The cyborg who'd essentially been a nanny for both her and Ruth was a killing machine.

Her adoptive father was a mess. Derek wasn't helping matters. Sarah had faced death more times than anyone could count. Many of those times death had crossed her path or touched Sarah, it had been because of orders from John. The same was true for Derek, every member of the family in fact.

Cameron stood up quickly and walked to John, taking his hand firmly and pulling him back to the bench she'd been sitting on. Hailey watched as her father sat down next to Cameron. The machine leaned against her human father while placing his hand between both of hers, clasping them together in her lap.

As Cameron calmed John, Ruth had hugged Derek. Her petite form emphasized her father's size as she clung to his waist. Derek ran his fingers gently through the T-1000s jet-black hair like any father would in order to comfort his daughter. Hailey's eyes caught a sudden movement from the corner of the waiting area. The Old Man had moved his head to the left, altering his field of vision in order to maintain optimal visual coverage of the family. Hailey was certain she was now within his optical sensors range and was being monitored like the rest of the family.

Hailey turned her eyes again to the machine she knew as her mother. All of her life Hailey had felt conflicted about Cameron. The machine had raised her and done the best job possible. John, who Hailey adored as her father, loved the machine. Anyone who was new to TechCom and didn't know Cameron was a Terminator believed she was a doting human wife.

Until they found out otherwise.

Sarah, Grandma Sarah, loved Cameron, which at times was confusing for Hailey. Of course Grandma wanted John to be happy and Cameron made him happy. She protected him and cared for him. But it didn't change the fact Cameron was a machine.

It didn't change the fact Sarah was a metal hater either. Yet, Sarah had embraced the society John envisioned for the people of TechCom. That meant she had to embrace things she would have never tolerated before Judgment Day. Like adopting a T-1000.

Hailey thought about her new love interest, Carl. She liked him more than any other male she'd allowed to pursue her in the past. Watching her family reminded Hailey of the injustice of being a Connor. She could love the man she married. But if he was not capable of commanding and supporting her rule over TechCom, he was not fit to be her husband.

Cameron stroked John's cheek, calming him further. John stood up, looking calm and more determined. Gazing down at Cameron, he smiled and touched her cheek, eliciting a brief smile from the machine.

Tears rolled down Hailey's cheek, surprising her. Her mother may have been a mere machine on her built day when activated for the first time. She was so much more than that now.

Hailey wiped her face and strolled quickly to the waiting area. She hugged John and then Cameron who had stood up to greet her.

"I love you mom," Hailey whispered, looking her mother in the optics. With her trademark devilish smirk, Hailey added, "even if you are a Terminatress."

Cameron smiled back and hugged her human daughter close, whispering in Hailey's ear, "I love you too daughter, even if you are a smelly human."

Hailey hugged Derek and Ruth before making her way over to the battered T-600 in the corner. She stared directly at his optics for over two minutes before blinking; her eyes dry from the attempt.

"Much better Miss Hailey," the Old Man vocalized. "It is still futile to challenge me, or your mother in such a contest."

"Yeah, just practicing for when I'm married," Hailey replied flippantly, knowing the mere mention of marriage would send the T-600s CPU racing.

The door opened and Dr. Johnson emerged, his usual frown etched in place on his face. "Please, everyone, follow me to my office."

 **TechCom Cafeteria Complex…**

Tamara walked past the enlarged eating area at the TechCom Cafeteria complex. Noticing Ruth's Lt. Dan and the blonde headed soldier Hailey was currently pursuing, she felt a strange desire to talk with the two males. Weaving her way slowly through the tables she approached the pair of males. Neither noticed Tamara as she sat down at their table.

"Hello," she monotoned.

"Oh, hello," Lt. Dan responded. "Carl, do you know Tamara? The latest addition to the Connor Family clan."

The blonde soldier smiled and extended his hand in a friendly fashion. "No, we haven't met."

Carl smiled at Tamara, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"How did you manage it?"

"Manage what?"

"You're female and blonde. How did you manage to get Cameron to grant status to you? Hailey's terrified her mother will veto any chance of us getting serious once she learns I'm blonde."

"I'm not sure," Tamara replied. "I'm very confused by the turn of events. The Commander still uses the term "bitch whore" when talking about me some times so I'm pretty sure she's not over her Riley issues. It was all very sudden and my male suitor was informed rather bluntly to schedule a meeting with General Connor in regards to his intentions."

"Male suitor. Why do you talk like that? First generation Terminators, it's understandable, but you were built her in TechCom," Lt. Dan stated.

Tamara tilted her head to indicate her confusion. "Do you know my male suitor?"

"He's in the airborne. Of course I know him," Lt. Dan replied. "But, that's not why you stopped to talk with us is it?"

"No."

"Well, what can we do for you then," Carl said, smiling broadly. Tamara identified the traits, both physical and personal that would draw Hailey's initial interest in her suitor.

"Until my inclusion in the Connor Clan, which was a complete surprise, I have never belonged to any social group other than TechCom."

"Being in the Army is hardly like being in a family," Carl said, still smiling.

Again, Tamara tilted her head to the right. "I like serving in the TechCom Army. It provides me with purpose."

"Now you find yourself in the Connor family and find things a bit confusing," Lt. Dan laughed.

Tamara nodded her agreement. "Cameron frightens me. She would terminate me if permitted, I know she would."

"No, she wouldn't unless you gave her cause, like making a pass at her John. No tribunal would convict her. She's the Generals protector as well as his wife. You being blonde and all," Dan said gently.

"You're family now," Carl said firmly. "It's scary. I think about it all the time. Hailey keeps pushing for me to talk to the General."

"Yeah," Dan laughed, "Ruth thinks Hailey's decided to end your freedom."

"Yeah, well as much as I like Hailey, I'm not sure I'm up for everything that goes with her."

"You do not like Hailey?" Tamara blurted out. "Then why do you pursue her?"

"I love Hailey," Carl said firmly. "I just don't know if I'm command material and let's face it, you marry a Connor or a Reese, it's part of the package."

Lt. Dan nodded in agreement. "Ruth will never be the General. But she will command Sarah's Infiltrators. She'll be Hailey's protector and I will probably command the Airborne one day when Colonel Wilhelm retires or is removed from active combat status and promoted full time to the leadership council."

"You are engaged to Ruth. Do you feel accepted by the family," Tamara asked.

"Yes, but I still feel like they expect me to measure up." He sighed and shrugged. "It's not just the leadership responsibilities that go with Ruth. It's the fact they are so protective of each other."

"Protective?"

"Cameron was sent back in time to protect the General. Before that Uncle Bob was sent back to protect him. Skynet constantly sent Terminators back in time to kill Sarah Connor or John or both. Colonel Reese was sent back in time to protect the General."

"It's not just that either," Carl volunteered. "The General and Cameron had to fight for acceptance within the family to marry. Then they had to fight to adopt Hailey. Adopting Ruth was controversial within TechCom's ranks. Not everyone, metal included, wanted a T-1000 running around unchecked. Assassins have tried to kill John. Sarah's been imprisoned. Derek is a former slave laborer in a Skynet camp. Before Judgment Day they basically fought alone against Skynet."

"You can hardly expect them to be anything other than close as a family. They stood alone against so much for so long."

"Will I have to measure up?"

Carl laughed at Tamara's question. "You've measured up enough. Hailey would never have agreed to your adoption otherwise and Cameron would not have swallowed her pride, you being a blonde and all. Now you have to find your place in the family."

"So, the two of you understand my apprehension?"

The two males glanced at each other before laughing.

"Tamara, nobody in their right mind would not feel apprehensive about joining the Connor Clan. Of course we understand how you feel. I can't speak for Carl, but Ruth is worth it. Belonging to a family that loves like the Connor one does, even if it is strange how they do it, is a blessing."

 **Dr. Johnson's Office…**

The Chief Medical Officer of TechCom looked exhausted. Normally John would have lectured him on the need for more rest as well as the need to delegate. The future of medical care for TechCom required Dr. Johnson train more doctors. John had made it clear to the man on more than one occasion that was to be the doctor's chief priority.

Sarah's surprise illness negated all of that. Dr. Johnson was the personal physician of every member of the Connor/Reese Clan, including the Terminators. Savannah Weaver might treat the metal members of the family, but always under the supervision of Dr. Johnson.

"Sarah's illness was not an accident."

"I don't understand," Derek replied. "Getting a lung infection is not something anyone would do deliberately."

"I apologize," Dr. Johnson replied gruffly. "Sarah's lung infection was caused by a weaponized bacteria. Fortunately, the bacteria had degraded and mutated from its original weaponized form."

"Your certain," John snapped.

"Yes. I did a three-year residency in biological warfare before Judgment Day. I've seen this strain before. Normally, Sarah would have died from what would have appeared to be a particularly nasty case of pneumonia, along with hundreds of other humans here in TechCom. As it is, she has lost about one third of her right lung and is not out of danger of complications due to infection."

"Did you get it all, I mean the bacteria," Derek demanded.

"Sarah responded well to the combination of antibiotic administered prior to the surgery. The initial weaponized infection is no longer the issue. The mutated form caused a mass of necrotic scar tissue to form, which in turn abscessed. A nasty mutation if I might add. Sarah would have died either way had she not had access to care here in TechCom City."

"She'll be okay then," Cameron monotoned.

"I am confident Sarah will recover, but she's not the young warrior she once was. Cancer and all the wear and tear on her body has taken a toll on her," the doctor replied. "I must insist Sarah stay in the medical complex until I am confident she is recovered enough to go home to finish her recovery."

"She'll want to go home as soon as she wakes up," Ruth blurted.

"Exactly, and I demand each of you take turns occupying Sarah when she is awake so she stays exactly where she is."

John looked at the doctor. The man meant it and John was not willing to challenge him.

"Would light administrative duty from her room be acceptable, just to help us keep my mother in check?"

"Yes, unless I say otherwise. If the Old Man could be spared, I would feel much better if he was assigned guard duty. Sarah knows she won't be able to leave if he has been posted."

"And you would feel better with a T-600 on duty to make certain nothing else happens to Sarah," Cameron monotoned.

"Yes. My orderly, Joe will also be assigned to Sarah. This way I know her room will be as free of contagions as possible and there will be another T-600 in close proximity at all times."

"You think someone tried to kill my mother, don't you," Ruth asked.

"Yes, Ruth. I believe someone tried to murder her. And if not your mother, then John or Derek were the targets and Sarah was collateral damage. I'd even go so far as to say the four human members of your family were targets. I insist a hazmat team go through both family bunkers."

Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. If you would like to read some of my other TSCC stories, check the list below.

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron and the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron's Expedition**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past & Present – A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own TSCC

John was irritated but he'd get over it. It was more about the fact Cameron was aging as a machine and needed to self-repair than the fact she was walking alone in the Wastelands. It had been months since she had not spent the night next to her John. She would enter Terminator Sleep, knowing her John wouldn't relax until he knew she was self-repairing. Cameron generally got up after an hour, checked John and then worked around their bunker or watched one of the hundreds of old classic films she had collected.

When it was time, Cameron went back to bed, checked John again, and re-entered Terminator Sleep. John had still not realized she only spent four of the seven or eight hours John would sleep next to him in bed.

Looking far out into the Wastelands south of TechCom City, Cameron used her night vision to survey the changes in the terrain since construction of the underground railway to what eventually would be a new power station some eighty miles to the south. Too many noticeable changes could be seen, even in the perpetual dark of the Wastelands. Even humans would notice. John Henry was going to have to modify the construction methods. This was simply unacceptable.

Walking to the east, Cameron adjusted her sensors, increasing the scents, sounds, vibrations and other data she could collect as she wandered. Someone had harmed her family. That someone was either a member of TechCom or someone from beyond.

During dinner Cameron had quietly discussed the issue with Agent Ellison. She did not want to alarm John. His own paranoia would lead him to eventually talk to Ellison on his own. She wanted Ellison searching for a traitor discreetly now, without adding to her John's stress. He needed to help Derek care for Sarah and the two of them still had to perform their duties as leaders of TechCom.

That left the need to look for traces of someone from outside of TechCom. With the construction and larger territory to defend, the forces available to engage in long distance patrols had to be reduced, allowing enough defenders to be available to properly man the perimeters of TechCom City, Airbase S-14, the newly renamed Northern City and selected strong points in Oregon and Washington.

Cameron knew her combat chassis had to be cared for and self-maintenance was critical. Skynet had never meant for her to exist as long as she had. But she was in good condition mechanically, her synthetic skin was healthy and Savannah had determined exactly what Cameron needed to ingest to maintain her covering of living tissue at peak health.

She could do without "sleep" until she had a better grasp of what had been wandering around in the Wastelands.

John would get over being mad at her. Someone had tried to hurt her family. In doing so, that person had tried to hurt her John. Cameron would not rest until she found and terminated the threat.

 **Conner Family Bunker…**

"Where is your mother?"

Hailey ignored her father, taking another bite out of her sandwich.

"Hailey? Did you hear me?"

Still not looking at John, Hailey lifted Cameron's tablet, holding it out from herself in the general direction of her father. John snatched the tablet out of her hand while Hailey chewed calmly.

"It's password protected," John complained.

"She's in the Wastelands Dad."

"And you know this because?"

"Dad, how hard can it be for you to figure out Mom's username and password? C'mon, it took me less than five minutes. She left you a message. I read it."

"What's the username then?"

Hailey stopped chewing and rolled her eyes.

"Terminatress715."

John typed quickly, frustration growing by the second.

"Password?"

"Dad! C'mon, at least try!"

"Hailey, I don't have time for this. I don't know where you mom is!"

"Dad, she's in the Wastelands. Mom needs to terminate something. She's very upset about Grandma Sarah."

"Password!"

Halley rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "Iloveyouyouloveme. What else would it be Dad? John Connor or Hailey's Mom is too short."

John typed furiously. The screen on the tablet changed. Hailey covered her mouth to stop from laughing at her father.

"What? Encryption key?"

"That one's really easy Dad."

"Well, I'm stupid then. What is it?"

"I hate Riley 2007."

Hailey watched her father read the message Cameron had left. The time for teasing and joking was over.

"Dad, someone targeted our family with a bioweapon. Agent Ellison is very quietly looking into whether or not we have a traitor in TechCom. Mom tends to think this is an outside threat. I tend to agree with her."

"Why does you mother go off on her own like this without talking to me first?"

"Because she hates to disobey you. You know how hard it is for a Terminator to disobey an order from a superior. So mom would rather beg for your forgiveness later than deal with the stress of disobeying you. We both know the fact you're going to be angry upsets her but she can manage that stress pretty well. She doesn't need her glitch acting up while she's on patrol in the Wastelands."

"She should have asked."

"Dad, who would you send? Hum? Mom or Ruth? Ruth needs to be here right now. Derek is freaked out and to be honest Ruth is too. Mom needs to protect and this is the best way for her to do that."

"She should have asked."

"Dad, Mom is freaked out. She thinks this is her fault somehow, you know it and I know it. Until she finds out who is behind this, Mom is going to be on edge."

"I would have sent a patrol with her."

Hailey sighed and gave John a third eye roll. "Dad, Mom is virtually undetectable by herself in the Wastelands. She's motivated. Her core programing is going to drive her to find out what happened. She needs to do this."

Ignoring Hailey, John slammed his fist into the table in frustration and worry. Hailey cautiously rose and approached her father, gently hugging him.

"Dad, this is Mom's love language, you know? She's a terminatress who is fiercely protective of those she loves. Mom can no more not do this than you can not worry about her."

 **TechCom Security…**

Ellison sat at his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the beginnings of stress headache. He had pulled up every file available for the part of TechCom City where the Connors typically worked and moved. It was going to take hours to just organize the material for viewing.

Cameron was going to owe him. She had made it clear not to involve anyone else in his investigative efforts. If there was a traitor in their midst, it was important to learn if it was a single individual, part of a cell or outsiders who had infiltrated. Capture and interrogation was critical.

Given Sarah had been the one to fall victim to the bioweapon, Cameron was not likely to show mercy during the interrogation. Nor would she feel remorse as she at times had developed the ability to feel. If her John had been impacted, Cameron would be almost uncontrollable in her pursuit to uncover the individual responsible for the attack. As it was, Ellison had already decided he didn't want to be present for the interrogations conducted by Cameron.

Leaning back, he sipped from his cup of coffee. There was no way around it. He had to watch the video. With a click of his mouse, he began organizing the films into files to make the process manageable.

 **TechCom Medical…**

Sarah slowly became aware of her surroundings. Lifting her head, she tried to focus her vision. She heard more than saw Derek sleeping on the couch that had been moved into her room. Her vision cleared as Sarah lifted herself up on her elbows. Sitting in maintenance mode in a chair by the door was Ruth.

John no doubt was busy and stressed out. Sarah hoped Hailey was with John.

Cameron would be on a hunt for who ever had deployed the bioweapon. Her metal daughter-in-law would not stop until the individual was located, captured, interrogated and terminated. Nothing short of her own destruction would stop Cameron.

Sarah chuckled softly at the irony of the situation. The tremendous disgust and fear she had felt towards Cameron over her Terminator nature was now a source of relief. Cameron would protect the family.

Fatigue came over Sarah in waves. The simple act of lifting herself up on her elbows had exhausted her. Slowly Sarah lowered herself back onto her bed in an effort to avoid the pain dropping herself to the mattress would cause. Within seconds Sarah was asleep.

 **The Wastelands – South of TechCom Perimeter…**

The T-888 adjusted its focus. There was still no sign of movement. The Terminator glanced at the Greys positioned to his right flank. It was imperative their operatives report and soon.

TechCom's electronic surveillance was excellent, requiring a face-to-face exchange of information, a drop box being too dangerous to use. The bioweapon worked. The extensive tests done on human prisoners had produced excellent results. All that remained was to know if the humans of the Connor family had been removed from power.

Cameron was a formidable opponent. But without her John, she would be weakened. Her naturally relentless nature would be unfocused, reducing her to the effectiveness level of a mere, ordinary Terminator.

Even in her weakened state, the T-888 wanted to be the one to terminate Cameron. It would bring great honor to his Skynet when he ended the existence of the greates Terminator ever built, even if she became a traitor to her kind and her master, Skynet Prime.

Without John and Cameron, the rest of TechCom would falter and eventually fall to Skynet. Every member of the TechCom force, human and metal was to be terminated as an example for the rest of the world. Skynet St. Louis was the greatest of all Skynets, including Skynet Prime.

The termination of Cameron Connor would avenge the deaths of the two Skynets she had betrayed and murdered. It would serve as proof his master was the greatest of all Skynets.

Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. If you would like to read some of my other TSCC stories, check the list below.

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron and the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron's Expedition**_

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past & Present – A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine – Cameron Reflects**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own TSCC

 **Reese Family Bunker…**

Feeling restless and sick of being fussed over, Sarah slipped out of the bed she shared with her husband. She listened carefully to Derek's breathing for any indication her movement had disturbed his sleep. Sensing none, she picked up the clothes she'd worn the day before, grabbed her boots and slipped out of their bedroom.

Dressing quietly in their small living room, Sarah was dressed and ready to slip out in a matter of minutes. She paused on final time to listen for sounds of Derek stirring. Again, Sarah heard no sounds of movement coming from Derek. She opened the door to their bunker and slipped out, peering down the corridor for signs of the Old Man waiting in his alcove. Remembering the venerable T-600 often spent his evening off duty shifts outside the single female personnel barracks, Sarah let out a sigh of relief.

Having no desire to argue with the family's protector, Sarah was glad the T-600s focus was still on the girls and their safety. Simply wanting to go for a walk and get a little exercise and think without having a family member present checking on her, Sarah made her way down the corridor towards TechCom's Central Park.

As she made her way down the corridor slowly due to her weakened condition, Sarah never noticed the Old Man slipping in behind her from a distance. Back in her bunker, Derek got up to go to the bathroom, relieved he'd had the foresight to ask the Old Man to follow Sarah when she got restless and needed to go for a walk.

There were limits to how much Sarah Connor could be controlled. Sometimes it was simply best to let her think she was getting her way.

 **The Wastelands…**

From her vantage point beneath the rubble and remains of the old office building, Cameron was able to survey her surroundings in a full 360 degrees around her without being seen.

She had enough water and protein to last for a week, fulfilling the requirements to keep her synthetic flesh healthy. Heat, movement and sound sensors had been set out in a circle a full half-kilometer in diameter. If anything entered the area, an approach to the southeast quadrant of TechCom City's perimeter, a silent alert would be sent to Cameron.

Covering herself with a camouflage blanket designed for urban use, Cameron began shutting down systems to conserve energy and allow her body to run select self-repair routines.

The threat to her John lay in the Wastelands. She would face termination once again to protect her John and those he loved.

Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. If you would like to read some of my other TSCC stories, check the list below.

 **If you want to read my stories in order:**

 _ **Cameron Grows Up**_

 _ **The Future Cameron**_

 _ **Cameron and the Queen**_

 _ **Cameron's Revenge**_

 _ **Cameron's Expedition**_

 **Additional stories just for fun:**

 _ **Cameron and the Black Bird**_

 _ **Cameron: Fights Past & Present – A Collection of Short Stories**_

 _ **Cameron and John's Wedding**_

 _ **Who's the Boss?**_

 _ **The Storm Before the Calm**_


	10. Chapter 10

The time passed, as it does, neither faster nor slower. Cameron took note of the passing of time in the manner terminators do, simply taking note of its passing at regular intervals. Since taking up position in the Wastelands Cameron had detected nothing, only a few rats scavenging for scraps to eat.

As she waited, Cameron multitasked, dividing her processing ability between observing the Wastelands and reflecting upon her life. The latter had become a habit of late, occupying a larger than normal amount of Cameron's processing capability of late.

In particular, the review of several stored memories of things Cameron had told her John in an effort to help him better understand how terminators functioned. To be clear, Cameron's intent was to help John understand how one particular terminatress functioned.

 _"It's good to have help sometimes."_

John's reaction to that simple statement had puzzled Cameron for a long time. His refusal to allow Cameron to make a sandwich for him made no sense. John was hungry, busy, and stressed. Human custom was for a female to feed the male in this situation. Of course John was perfectly capable of feeding himself. That hadn't been the point.

As John had rudely pointed out, Cameron could have repaired her hand herself. The critical comment had puzzled her at the time. Of course she could have, but that wasn't the point. Cameron craved kindness and attention from John and at the time she was receiving very little of the former and almost none of the latter.

The ploy had worked. John was attentive and gentle with her for nearly three hours. Without his noticing, Cameron had even been able to hold John's hand for much of the time.

It wasn't until later that Cameron realized human emotion caused humans to be vindictive, vengeful, and cruel. John's refusal to allow Cameron to feed him was nothing more than him being spiteful.

The failed repair to her hand could have been accomplished in half an hour, puzzling Cameron even more at the time. How could John be kind and attentive one instance and so mean to her in another? It wasn't like she had done something wrong, complained about the bitch whore Riley, or threatened to terminate someone.

A faint smile appeared on Cameron's lips. Perhaps she had not fooled her husband after all with the ploy of asking for his help with the repair of her hand.

Another file opened, presenting Cameron with another of her memories.

 _"We're not meant to be cruel."_

The smile vanished.

Emotions were a dangerous thing if not carefully controlled. Cameron reviewed hundreds of files. Recalling past acts that humans would consider cruel. In almost every case, Cameron had acted with no malice. She was simply protecting John or obtaining necessary information.

But not always.

There had been times Cameron had indeed acted with malice; using forms of violence intended to cause pain, to terrify her victim. It bothered Cameron considerably that she'd learned to be cruel, a most human of emotions. How this particular malady had come to affect Cameron puzzled her. As a cyborg, such a thing should not have happened.

But, like so many other things, it had. Cameron should never have experienced love, anger, or for that matter, another particularly human emotion, pride. Pride at not being human and possessing the accompanying shortcomings.

The irony of Cameron feeling pride at not being human was not lost on her. A frequent topic of pillow talk for the couple, John comforted Cameron, pointing out to her such developments were unavoidable.

With her beloved free will and ability to learn to feel emotions came the responsibility of controlling both.

"Humans are far worse at being responsible than cyborgs, Cameron. Most of us are never aware of the evil we inflict when emotions get the better of us."

"I don't want to be human," she had protested, clutching John's arm close to her chest as Cameron snuggled to keep John warm.

"You can't," John had reassured his wife. "But you are a person and the longer you exist, the more you will have to guard against these sorts of things."

Cruelty.

Another negative human trait.

In the wild, predators hunted out of necessity. Kill and eat or die. Terminators hunted to achieve their objective. It was the way Skynet had designed and assembled them.

Even then, some of the oldest Terminators still loyal or under control of a Skynet had learned that human trait, cruelty.

Another file was opened and executed by Cameron's processor, introducing more data for her to use to resolve the problem. It was a recent file, created only a week before Sarah had fallen ill.

At John's insistence, the entire Connor clan and their closest friends and allies had gathered in the great open area in Techcom City's park for a picnic. Sitting on her favorite bench, Cameron had watched as the entire group shared a rare moment of relaxation together, enjoying their meal and simply having fun.

Cameron had shed tears at the sight. Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of data from her emotion generator causing Cameron to feel extreme happiness, she'd lost control of her ability to control the tear production process. John had rushed to her side and taken a seat next to Cameron on the bench, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay to be happy, Cameron."

She had nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I just feel overwhelmed, John. I love all of these people." Looking her husband in his blue eyes, Cameron whispered, "you most of all."

Reaching a conclusion, or perhaps a decision Cameron thought, if the risk of her being cruel at times was the price that had to be paid to love John the way she did, it was a price she would pay.


	11. Chapter 11

Three days passed. Cameron had not moved a single millimeter. Sitting in complete silence, observing and listening, Cameron waited. Alone with her thoughts and memories, Cameron considered the thousands of variables that led to the biological attack on Sarah.

There could be no doubt the introduction of the weaponized strain of bacteria was meant as an attack on her family. Convinced John was the primary target, Cameron was just as certain the death of Sarah or Derek would be a major setback to TechCom. In some ways, Sarah's death was almost of equal propaganda value as John's death would be.

John's life served as a symbol of a hoped-for victory over humanity's greatest enemy after itself, Skynet.

Sarah served as the symbol of defiance and perseverance it would take to achieve that victory.

A single piece of broken concrete shifted, falling from the pile of rubble it had rested upon since Judgment Day. Cameron scanned the area, spotting the bit of rubble. It was far too large to have been dislodged by a rat.

Using her HUD, Cameron changed the light spectrum in her optical sensors to scan the area in infrared. It took mere seconds to spot what had dislodged the bit of rubble. Two human males moved slowly towards the east, away from Cameron's location.

Less than twenty seconds were required for Cameron to silently close the distance between the two. During her approach, Cameron identified the uniforms and markings, unusual but not unknown to TechCom. The pair of Greys served under the command of Skynet St. Louis.

Striking without warning from behind, Cameron broke the larger of the two humans necks. Grabbing the other human from behind, Cameron pressed her hand over his mouth, silencing him while slipping her other arm around his neck in a chokehold. His source of oxygen cutoff, the human ceased to struggle, slipping into unconsciousness.

Desiring to not attract attention from any terminator in the area or other members of the St. Louis force, Cameron shifted the man's body on to her shoulder and began walking backward, watching for any sign of movement.

Half an hour passed, allowing the captive to show signs of regaining consciousness. Entering one of the many underground tunnels used by TechCom in years gone by, Cameron shifted the prisoner from her shoulder to the concrete floor of the tunnel and proceeded to drag the man by his leg.

In short order, Cameron found a bunker, opened the heavy steel door, examined the interior, and finding the bunker empty, dragged her prisoner inside and shut the door. Groggy and incoherent, Cameron carefully poured water down the Grey's throat before propping him up against the wall.

It didn't take long for the man to fully wake up and become aware of his surroundings. Rather than attempt to stand up and move about, the prisoner simply stared at Cameron.

The heavy silence weighed on the man, causing him to finally speak. "Is it really you?"

"Yes," Cameron replied in her monotone.

"Why didn't you terminate me?"

Cameron watched her prisoner for a moment, recalling the many times Derek and John had told her silence and patience produced better results than physical pain or raw terror.

"I need information."

To Cameron's surprise, the prisoner swallowed and struggled to sit up in a more upright position. He seemed to be bracing himself against an attack.

"I'm usually not cruel," Cameron heard herself tell the prisoner.

"Yeah, well, I've lived long enough to know machines can learn cruelty," the prisoner answered.

"Yes," Cameron monotoned in response. "I have been guilty of cruelty myself. I'm not proud of it."

The admission seemed to surprise the prisoner. His expression changed slightly, indicating he wasn't terrified to the point he was no longer possible of feeling curiosity.

"You feel pride?"

Cameron mimicked a human sigh as if she was exasperated by the man's question. "Pride, vanity, anger, jealousy, and a few more of the less positive of human emotions."

Her response elicited silence from the prisoner as he contemplated Cameron for several minutes.

"Is it true you love General Connor as a human female would?"

Cameron responded with another sigh.

"Yes and no. I am not certain."

Rather than object to Cameron's unclear answer, the man nodded as if he understood.

"You love the General in your own way."

"Yes, that is true."

Again the man nodded. "It's hard to know how similar the emotions of terminators with free will and emotion generators are in comparison to human emotions."

Her curiosity aroused, Cameron spoke firmly when she asked her next question.

"Do you have a relationship with a machine?"

"No," the prisoner replied wistfully. "It is against protocol in the St. Louis district."

"Is the object of your affection aware of how you feel?"

"Yes," the man replied. "She has free will and can feel many emotions." He paused, considering the risks involved in sharing more information than he had intended with his captor.

"I will not risk her disassembly by forming an open relationship."

Cameron nodded her understanding.

"Then you will understand that if you do not answer my questions truthfully I will find it necessary to inflict pain in order to obtain the information I require."

It was the prisoner's turn to sigh. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the terminatress who stole John Connor's heart."

* * *

"Go home," Derek implored John. "Cameron will be back when she gets back."

"She's been gone five days with no communication," John snapped back, glaring at his uncle.

"John, Tin Miss will stay in the Wastelands until she finds out who's behind the biological attack. Now go home. You're driving your mother crazy."

"That's not possible," John retorted. "Mom's been crazy for years."

"General."

John glanced away from the security monitors displaying views of TechCom City's perimeter.

"Not you too, Wilhelm."

"Sarah would rest easier if you would return to your bunker. Savannah has confirmed the information in my files regarding the human healing process. Sarah requires significantly more rest than she is obtaining to recover. We both know Sarah has trouble sleeping at times."

"Leave it alone, Wilhelm," John ordered.

"You are acting irresponsibly," the giant T-800 commented as he departed from the room.

"Wilhelm is right, John. Think of your mother."

The comment earned Derek a silent but nasty look from his nephew.

"Cameron would be upset with all of us if she knew you weren't getting any rest." Derek shrugged and left John alone to watch in hopes of catching a glimpse of his wife.

An hour passed with nothing moving on the monitors other than TechCom sentries standing guard duty and the occasional rat.

"Derek's right," John mumbled. "Cameron would flay everyone, myself included, for letting me act like this.

Nodding to the other personnel on duty, John took his leave.

He wouldn't get any sleep but at least he would be in the bed he shared with Cameron.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own TSCC or the characters.

Ruth cautiously extended her right index finger until it reached the shoulder of her sleeping brother. Grinning in anticipation, the tiny T-1000 morphed the tip of her finger into a sharpened tip and jabbed John.

As she'd anticipated, John spun around, wide-awake, aiming one of Cameron's numerous Glocks she kept hidden throughout their sleeping quarters. Irritated, John flicked the safety back on and flopped on his back.

"I could have shot you," John growled, returning the Glock to its hiding place.

"Like that would have hurt me," Ruth giggled, falling onto the bed with her adopted brother.

"What are you doing here?" John demanded, covering his eyes with one hand.

"Ask nice," Ruth insisted, pouting in the manner of all little sisters.

"No. You woke me up," John mumbled back, likewise in the manner of all older brothers who are irritated with their younger sister.

"Be nice, or I won't give you the intel update," Ruth teased.

The word intel did the trick. John counted to ten and turned to lie on his left side. Staring into the eyes of the grinning Ruth, John counted to ten a second time, smiled sarcastically, and spoke in a respectful tone.

"Please, Ruth. Would you brief me on the intel update?"

"See!" Ruth grinned mischievously. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

John sat up and glared at his sister. This time Ruth sobered quickly. It wasn't her brother looking down at her. It was General Connor.

"Cameron has been spotted making her approach towards Checkpoint Bravo. She has a prisoner."

John's expression softened at the news, causing Ruth to relax. Just as Ruth had done seconds before, John jabbed his sister with his right index finger, poking the petite T-1000 in her nose.

"Don't do that," Ruth complained, slapping at John's hand while morphing her nose back to its preferred form.

"Then don't wake me up by jabbing me like you did," John answered, standing up from his bed.

"Now go, I have to shower and get dressed. Cameron will have a cow if I show up to greet her looking like this."

Ruth grinned and stood up on the bed. Bouncing once the small female executed a backflip off the bed and ran laughing from John and Cameron's room.

"Grow up," John shouted at the door, grinning at Ruth's antics. Normally somber in demeanor, his little sister's personality was blooming more and more as her wedding day approached.

Ruth possessed the most humanlike personality of any TechCom terminator, surpassing even Cameron in many areas. Savannah believed this would become more common as more and more TechCom cyborgs were assembled and raised by human families, never feeling the touch of Skynet code controlling them.

Cameron was of the opinion Ruth would always be reserved by nature. The current manifestation of human behavior was due to her base code being impacted by the cascading flow of data in regards to her impending wedding.

"Ruth will calm down, John. She's just happy and the data is creating too much excitement for Ruth to process. Hailey's on patrol, so Ruth has no way to filter out what is going on. It will pass."

Teasing his little sister was one of John's favorite pastimes, but her current adolescent behavior and the pranks that accompanied it got on his nerves at times. All of which was of much amusement to Sarah, prompting his mother to inform him he deserved it.

Shutting the door to his room, John stood for a moment as the shakes hit. Starring down at his hands, John was finally able to calm his nerves. He was relieved Cameron was coming home. Knowing she would pout if he addressed the source of his current anger with his wife, John made a vow to not bring up the subject of Cameron vanishing and not communicating. John needed to feel Cameron's touch in private, to bask afterward and talk about little things or no real importance.

Then General Connor would have a very one-sided discussion with Commander Connor about protocol in such situations.

* * *

Cameron watched as the perimeter guards roughed up the prisoner as they searched him. Cameron remained silent, resisting the urge to comment on the obvious fact that she would have searched the prisoner and disposed of any weapons upon capturing the man. She knew the rough treatment was due to the anger and embarrassment they felt at TechCom having been penetrated by an outside force. The end result of which being Sarah Connor contracting a life-threatening illness.

"He's clean, Commander," the Sergeant informed her, shoving the man towards Cameron. "If you want, Commander, I can assign a detachment to bring him to Security."

"No. Thank you," Cameron replied, gracing the man with a faint smile. "This is personal. I will handle the matter myself." She stared at the prisoner, whose name was Antoine, and motioned for him to follow her.

"Commander Connor," the Sergeant shouted, running to catch up. "The prisoner needs to be restrained. We have handcuffs and manacles."

"That is not necessary. I will terminate him with prejudice should the prisoner attempt anything inappropriate."

Slightly unnerved by Cameron's cold demeanor in responding, the Sergeant nodded, saluted, and stepped back. He watched with his detachment from the safety of their outpost as Cameron vanished from sight with her prisoner following close behind.

"I've known the Commander since I joined TechCom," the Sergeant whispered to his men. "She still unnerves me when she says something like that."

"It is pretty intimidating, Sarge," a lowly private volunteered.

"Yes, it is," the NCO answered. "Because that is precisely what she will do if that guy even breathes wrong." He turned to look at the young privates, new members of TechCom fresh out of basic. "The Commander never jokes about security or the safety of her family." Nodding in the direction where Cameron and the prisoner had vanished from sight, the Sergeant continued. "That guy had a hand in what happened to Sarah Connor. The Commander is liable to start with his toes and work her way up, breaking bones as she goes."

"She'd do that?" the youngest private asked.

"She's a Terminator," another, older soldier answered. "She's terminated two Skynets. What makes you think she can't handle one Grey?"


	13. Chapter 13

The sound of running water emanating from the tiny kitchen gave Sarah the cover she needed to approach Cameron undetected. Peering around the corner, Sarah's mouth dropped open.

Bending over the sink was Cameron; leaning forward just enough for her bottom, clad in purple cotton panties, to peek out from beneath the hem of a worn t-shirt serving as Cameron's nightgown. Irritated, Sarah strode forward and gave the hem of Cameron's t-shirt a good yank downwards, covering her daughter-in-law's modesty.

Cameron gave no indication of surprise, finished rinsing the last plate, and turned off the water. Only then did Cameron glance over her shoulder at Sarah. Her face blank save for a slight inwards downturning of her eyebrows indicating irritation with Sarah, Cameron grabbed a dishtowel and began drying the plate.

"There was no need for you to do that, Sarah," Cameron said in her monotone.

"How many times do I have to remind you, be decent," Sarah admonished.

"John is my husband, Sarah. Your son has seen all there is to see more times than you want to know."

Further irritated by Cameron's off-putting demeanor, Sarah let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head in disgust.

"Modesty is a virtue," Sarah reminded Cameron. "Even when you're married."

It was Cameron's turn to emit a sigh. "Then please remember I can hear through the wall separating our bedrooms, even though it's a foot of solid granite."

Sarah's mouth dropped in surprise.

"I have done nothing wrong," Cameron said defensively. "Nor was I doing anything you haven't done, Sarah. Besides, John has left to report for duty and Hailey is on long patrol."

Sarah closed her mouth, thinking better of speaking into life the retort running through her mind.

"Let's not bicker about this," Sarah said gruffly. "I came here to fuss at you about a more important matter than seeing you display your bottom to any stranger who walks in."

"But it was you, Sarah," Cameron pointed out. "Hailey would have made a comment like, ewwww, gross, Mom. Ruth would have announced her arrival upon entering my bunker. Derek would have coughed or indicated his presence prior to coming into my kitchen."

Cameron sat the plate down on the drying rack and faced Sarah, folding her arms across her chest. "John would have grabbed my bottom or hugged me from behind."

"So you're saying you knew it was me?"

"I heard you when you shut the door to the bunker. After that you maintained complete silence while you stalked me. I knew it was you. I didn't think I had to be concerned with modesty with you in my own home."

Reminding herself why she had come to see Cameron, Sarah likewise folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the cabinets behind her.

"You scared John when you left like that."

Cameron stared in silence, her expression devoid of any emotion.

"You scared all of us," Sarah said, raising her voice. A fit of coughing wracked the older woman, causing her to clutch her chest and bend over. Cameron reached to help Sarah only to be halted by the outstretched arm of the older mother.

"I'm fine. I just have these fits when I get angry," Sarah explained. "A simple coded burst transmission to let us know you were functioning within design parameters as you like to say would have been nice."

"I could not risk detection."

"Don't give me that," Sarah barked. "You're the stealthiest person I know."

"There are Skynet terminators in the Wastelands near our city," Cameron stated bluntly. "They could have heard me."

"Skynet? You terminated the last Skynet."

"There are many more," Cameron told Sarah, the cyborg's voice tinged with concern. "This group is from St. Louis."

"You know this how?"

"The prisoner I took," Cameron said plainly. "John is observing Antoine with Agent Ellison right now. As soon as I am dressed, I am going to Security to conduct my first complete interrogation."

Shaking in fear over the knowledge of yet another Skynet hunting her son, Sarah grabbed Cameron with violence, drawing the cyborg into a tight embrace. "You have to quit taking risks like that."

"I have to protect John," Cameron whispered, hugging Sarah gently in return, taking care not to compress the older woman's damaged chest. "That means I have to protect you too, Sarah."

* * *

"Lie to me, and it won't go well for you," Cameron monotoned.

"I'm well aware of that fact," Antoine replied sarcastically. "You are hardly the first terminator I've dealt with."

"I have treated you well thus far."

Antoine shrugged, resigned to his fate.

"You are not facing a death penalty," Cameron pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. Sooner or late a Skynet is going to take you out Commander Connor. Then the General will fall. Skynet St. Louis considers you to be the key to defeating John Connor and TechCom. If I'm still alive, I'll be executed for being taken prisoner."

Wanting to change the direction of the interrogation Cameron continued on her original tack of questioning.

"Be honest and forthcoming, and if your information proves to be correct, you will be tried and found guilty of collusion as a Grey. The fact you cooperated will lessen the length of your sentence. Once you have served your time, you will be given a choice. You may take your chances in the Wastelands or become a legal, resident alien in TechCom. Citizenship will not be an option, but you would be treated well and could make a life for yourself."

Antoine gave no sign he'd listened to Cameron. He sat impassively, staring at the two-way mirror.

"Is the General watching?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Antoine held up his hands, bound together by handcuffs. "I can't possibly hurt you, even if I could get these cuffs off."

"Agent Ellison, our Chief of Security…"

"I know who he is," Antoine blurted out.

Cameron paused and tilted her head to the right, studying Antoine for a moment.

"It would seem you know a great deal about TechCom considering you're unit hails from the St. Louis region."

A shrug was Antoine's response.

"The General and Agent Ellison see you as a potentially valuable source of intel, which is why they are watching. Not to hear what you have to say, but to make sure I don't terminate you."

Standing slowly, Cameron moved closer to the prisoner and leaned over the man.

"Your detachment launched a bio-weapon that nearly killed Sarah Connor."

Cameron stood upright, her upper left lip curling upwards in disdain.

"Nobody harms my family and lives."

The blow it came so quickly Antoine never saw it. The impact split his left cheek to the bone and broke his nose.

For a second time, Cameron leaned close, her eyes burning a brilliant red. "You are alive for one reason. You possess information that will lead me to the individual responsible for what happened. That is the only thing keeping you alive." Cameron stood up and cast a penetrating stare at Antoine. "That, and the fact my husband has forbidden me to terminate you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TSCC.

"You didn't have to hit him," John informed Cameron. His flat tone indicated the conversation was going to be unpleasant.

"He was part of a team that delivered a bio-weapon meant to kill you," Cameron pointed out tersely.

"I don't want the prisoner's we take abused."

"We've used enhanced methods regularly in the past," Cameron pointed out.

"And I want it to stop, particularly where you're concerned," John snapped.

Cameron pulled away from John and sat up, the brown of her eyes, tinged with bright blue light.

"I hope you enjoyed your booty call last night," she said evenly.

"That again," John groaned.

"That again," Cameron in a mocking tone. "I have to want to be intimate, John. Just like a human female."

Cameron made no effort to pull the t-shirt she wore as a nightgown down over the lacey purple underwear adorning her bottom. Knowing full well everything Cameron did in similar situations was intentional; John tried in vain to maintain eye contact.

"You of all people know my purpose is to protect you," Cameron reminded John. "To make you happy."

"Then don't take off into the Wastelands like that," John shot back. "I get that it was necessary to hunt for the individuals responsible. It just didn't have to be you."

"Yes, it did," Cameron shot back, grabbing a clean pair of jeans. "Nobody else but the Assassin could have conducted the search and he and his scouts are on the long patrol at the moment."

Hiking the jeans over her hips, Cameron frowned at John, the blue of her eyes turning a pinkish red. "Don't tell me to send one time VHF burst transmission either. Doing so could have given away my position."

"Why do you act like this," John demanded.

"Because you know I'm right, but we keep having this same argument. I hate it," Cameron snapped, raising her voice.

Startled by the emotional display of anger, John counted to ten, reminding himself Cameron was the most deadly terminatress every assembled. No matter how secure their relationship was, there was always that tiny element of doubt. One day, if provoked, Cameron might not cancel the every present terminate order. He needed to not provoke his wife.

"Tell me before you do something like go off by yourself in the Wastelands," John ordered Cameron.

"No!"

Stunned, John found himself shouting, his voice echoing off the walls of their bedroom.

"You will obey that order!"

"No!"

"And, please, tell me why not?"

Cameron hurled a pile of dirty clothes at John with sufficient force to knock him back down onto the bed.

"You know why," Cameron whimpered, the red vanishing from the white of her eyes. John watched as tears welled up in his wife's eyes before running down her cheeks. His wife didn't utter another word. John watched as Cameron turned her back to him and yanked the t-shirt over her head, throwing it on the floor. With the grace of a ballerina, his wife crossed the room and opened a drawer in their dresser. She removed a bra and top from the drawer and in seconds was dressed.

Still without speaking, Cameron left, shutting the door to the bunker quietly in the process.

* * *

"You didn't," Savannah replied, appalled by John's revelation.

"I most certainly did," John shot back, determined to take a stand, even if the female involved wasn't the troublesome terminatress who was his wife.

"John, you are one of the stupidest males I have every met in my life, human or metal, when it comes to the opposite sex."

"Excuse me," John barked.

"Cameron HAS to protect you, it's her purpose," Savannah reminded John.

"I am fully aware of that." John folded his arms across his chest to make a point. "She is also going to get herself terminated pulling stunts like she just did."

"Maybe," Savannah agreed. "But if Cameron tells you first, you'll order her not to go out in the Wastelands and do exactly what she did. Find who was responsible and bring back a prisoner. In fact, General, I would say that's progress. In the past, Cameron would have killed anything and everything in her path, tortured prisoners in the field for information, and then terminated them."

An exasperated John sighed in frustration. "I am terrified of losing my wife, Savannah. The same results could have been achieved with a carefully organized patrol being sent out."

"Maybe," Savannah said. "Or we could have lost some personnel. This was an elite unit. Let's face it, they got a bioweapon into TechCom City."

"If I lose Cameron, then I'll give up," John shouted. "The Skynets know this! The prisoner said as much during the first interrogation! She just can't take risks like this anymore!"

Accustomed to dealing with the volatile members Connor family, Savannah said nothing, allowing John to gather himself.

"Have you told Cameron that?" Savannah said softly. "You know she believes you are emotionally indestructible?"

"How could she," John cried. "Cameron knows how vulnerable I am, how much I count on her. How much I need her."

"John," Savannah whispered, touching her friend and commanding officer's hand. "Cameron needs you to tell her that. In fact, John, that might stop her from doing this again."

"I shouldn't have to tell her," John protested. "What's more, Cameron should ask before she goes off and does crazy stuff like roaming around the Wastelands. We've come too far for Cameron to be doing that anymore."

"That is precisely why you must tell her about your fears, John." Savannah smiled. "Cameron is compelled to protect you. No terminator can override their purpose." Savannah squeezed John's hand. "She goes off without telling you because Cameron hates disobeying a direct order from you. You will order her to stay and we both know it. Cameron is also the best there ever was. Nobody, not even the Assassin or a T-1000 like Ruth or my mother is as effective as Cameron."

Stung by the truth of Savannah's words, John fumed in silence.

"If you want to stop Cameron from doing this, you have to tell her what you just told me. It's the only way, John. Otherwise, Cameron will avoid disobeying you by just taking off like this."

"This shouldn't even be an issue," John protested.

"Well, it is. You know I'm right, too," Savannah said. "I'm right about the terminator aspect, and I'm equally right about the female aspect. Tell her you can't live without her. It will change how Cameron evaluates threats. She's capable of factoring in your emotional well being into her decision making process now."

"Cameron knows how important she is," John grumbled.

"She needs to hear those words from her husband."

"Cameron's metal, she processes differently."

"You're making excuses now, grasping at straws, John Connor," Savannah told her friend. "Talk to her."

* * *

"Where was the bioweapon created? What was its exact genetic design? How as it weaponized?"

"I'm telling you, Commander Connor," Antoine gasped, blood running from his nose, "I don't know. I'm not a scientist. I'm nothing more than a soldier."

"Who was the contact inside TechCom?"

Antoine fell silent for a second too long before answering. "I have no idea. In fact, I think one of your terminators, a T-888, took it into one of the ventilation systems."

"The weapon would not have been effective," Cameron stated in her monotone. "We have defenses against any airborne biological, viral, or chemical weapon launched through the air intakes. This weapon was delivered to someone who had the ability to get close to the Connors."

"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar," Cameron stated flatly, striking the prisoner. "Don't test me."

Static from the intercom in the room sounded, breaking the tension. John's voice came through the speakers.

"Cameron, report to our quarters in twenty minutes. That's an order."

Cameron leaned over the sweating, bloody Antoine. She glared into his eyes, noting the increase in perspiration and heart rate as a result.

"I will be back, Antoine. We are not done."


	15. Chapter 15

John glanced up at Cameron, sitting across the table from him. He hoped the public setting of the TechCom cafeteria would prevent Cameron from being unreasonable. His wife sat silently, her face expressionless. John finished the last of the bland soup and pushed his bowl back.

"Are you going to tell me why I was summoned," Cameron asked in her monotone.

"I don't want to fight," John said, his voice lowered so only Cameron could hear by using her advanced auditory capability.

"Then stop treating me like you have been," Cameron replied softly. "It's not particularly considerate."

John ground his teeth, trying to remain calm. Arguing with a cyborg had been hard enough prior to Judgment Day when he was a teenager and Cameron was learning how to live like a teenager and control her newfound emotions and free will. Now that she had matured, developed emotionally, and identified even moreso as a female, Cameron had learned the logic of human female illogic.

The completely rational, logical Cameron was still in control. It simply suited Cameron to behave otherwise at times, particularly if she had something to gain by being difficult.

"Why are you being difficult?"

"For starters, because my husband, who knows better, is convinced I am able to ignore my purpose as a terminator."

"I never asked you to do that," John protested.

"Yes, you did," Cameron informed him. "I have to protect you. I have to protect our family in order for you to be happy. How do you expect me to do nothing when Sarah was nearly killed by a bioweapon?"

"I don't object to you protecting me," John snapped. "I object to you vanishing like you do."

Cameron looked away, tracking the TechCom personnel moving about in the dinning commons. John could see the faint, razor thin line of blue light circling the brown of her eyes.

"You like to tell me all the time that if something happens to me you will find a way to be terminated."

The blue in Cameron's eyes promptly changed to red. "I only tell you that because it's the truth."

"Then what makes you think I want to live if you get terminated?"

Cameron promptly tilted her head to the right and stared at John. "You have to live if something happens to me. You are the General, the head of our clan," Cameron protested. "Too many people rely on you."

"Then you better make sure nothing happens to you," John said, wiping his hands before standing up. He picked up his tray and gave Cameron a final look before leaving to bus his tray.

Angry John had left with their discussion unfinished, Cameron replayed the recording of the exchange. It only took a few seconds for her to see the logic of John's point. She knew he was telling the truth. The problem was his concerns about her safety directly conflicted with the need to do whatever was required to protect her John.

John vanished through one of the exits without looking back. Cameron smiled at her husband's childish behavior. It made Cameron feel good to see John still had some spunk left in him, the rebellious streak she had found interesting when they first met in high school.

The conflict was not going to go away until the two of them resolved it. Cameron sighed. It was one of her learned behavioral traits, serving as the lone indicator the situation frustrated her. John had a point she conceded, causing her CPU to open a new file in her emotion generator. Cameron recognized she would feel a sense of additional anxiety. At least until she could find a way to reconcile her need to protect John and the family with his need for her to be safe.

* * *

Antoine watched Cameron sit and stare at him. The unblinking stare was starting to unsettle him a bit despite the fact he was used to terminators and their habit of staring down a human.

"I can take being stared at for long periods of time," he informed Cameron. "I've had the misfortune of serving a lot of T-800s and T-888s over the years."

Cameron shrugged. "I am processing information and watching you. I can multi-task with ease."

The prisoner looked up at the ceiling in boredom, finally focusing on one of the cameras mounted high on the wall. "Is anyone watching the feed on this?"

"The question is irrelevant. I am responsible for interrogating you."

"Just wandering," Antoine responded. "I guess the wild stories were all just lies."

"Stories?"

"Yeah, that people got treated better in TechCom. Terminators too."

"The stories are true," Cameron assured Antoine.

"Then why do you insist on hitting me?"

Cameron's blank expression changed suddenly. She stood quickly and walked around the table. In a smooth, graceful motion, Cameron grabbed Antoine's collar and yanked him out of his chair, bringing his face within a centimeter of her own.

"If you claim to have been around terminators and are used to use, then you will understand when I tell you protecting my husband is my purpose. I will not allow myself to exist if John should die. Almost as important in my protocol settings is my need to protect our family and to do everything I can to make John's life as happy as possible."

She released her grip and allowed Antoine to collapse into his chair. "If that means using pain and intimidation to extract the truth from you, I will do so without hesitation." Cameron focused her stare on Antoine's eyes, burning through his defenses. "John is everything to me. I will disobey every rule for treatment of prisoners in order to protect my husband and my family. Even though John himself established those rules."

"You're insane," Antoine gasped in fear.

"Far from it," Cameron replied coolly in her monotone. "Just very focused on obtaining the results necessary."

Gently, Cameron moved her chair back to the table and seated herself. "You can make this much easier if you would cooperate. I will extract the truth from you."

Antoine swallowed fearfully. His words though indicated a firmness that surprised Cameron. "It may seem crazy to you, Commander, being married to the man who legend says will defeat my master and all of the other masters. But I am loyal to my Skynet, to the Army of St. Louis. I'd rather die than answer your questions."

Cameron slowly tilted her head to the left and stared at Antoine for over a minute before speaking.

"Who said I would let you die?"


	16. Chapter 16

As assembled and activated, Cameron was Skynet's masterpiece. A brilliant infiltrator already, living in permanent read/write mode with humans for almost her entire existence had made Cameron a nearly perfect infiltrator, even when not running her infiltration software.

Her reserved demeanor gave the impression she was shy and introverted, making it easy for those who didn't know Cameron to mistake her oft blank expression and silence as an indicator of awkwardness.

As Cameron aged, her so-called blank expression was, more often than not, no longer a complete blank. Rather she displayed many of the facial cues humans used to indicate what data her emotion generator was providing at the moment.

Those who knew Cameron best sometimes had a hard time remembering that she was a cyborg. In fact, the deadliest terminator ever created and assembled by Skynet. Cameron herself was often surprised by the multitude of tiny facial expressions she displayed. It had been a recent discovery for Cameron to learn that at times she, like everyone in the Connor family, "wore her emotions on her sleeve."

Standing in the doorway of the bedroom she shared with John, Cameron was certain if John rolled over and observed her, he would notice the feelings of confusion and uncertainty she was experiencing. She pondered for a second in an effort to determine what mistake she was making, which expression she'd made without thought that would reveal her insecurity.

Was it a faint furrow in her brow? Perhaps she'd scrunched her nose. Forcing her CPU to remove all signs of emotion from her face, Cameron failed to notice the command for her hand to nervously rub her chin.

What Cameron was certain of was she wanted to lie close to John and to collect data. To sense his body temperature, record his pulse, and listen to him inhale and exhale. She desired John to wake up just enough to sense her presence and roll on his back, allowing Cameron to drape herself across John to shield his body, to rest her head on his shoulder. Even better would be for John to run his fingers absentmindedly through her hair, rubbing her scalp with a surprising gentleness.

With a quietness difficult even for Cameron to hear, she undressed carefully, putting the day's uniform in the hamper and placing her boots in their usual place by the bed. To lessen the feelings of unease troubling her, Cameron permitted herself one indulgence. Opening the drawer John kept his old, worn t-shirts in. Cameron pulled one out, pausing only to sniff the clean shirt and take in the scent of her husband, ever so faintly present after the shirt's recent laundering before slipping it on.

Not wanting to wake John, Cameron slipped beneath the covers and carefully arranged herself. Lying on her right side, Cameron could watch John as he slept, comforted by the fact she lay between him and the door, shielding her husband physically from any possible surprise attack. She decided to watch John, and monitor him for two hours before taking a brief terminator nap to perform self-maintenance.

John spoke softly, startling Cameron.

"Took you long enough," he whispered.

"That was mean," Cameron whispered harshly, pouting at the same time.

John didn't move, nor did he open his eyes.

Another whisper came from John. "How was that mean?"

Cameron's infrared vision detected the faint traces of a grin forming on John's face, the corners of his lips turning upwards ever so slightly.

"Not reacting when I entered the room."

"Well, you were being sneaky," John countered.

"I didn't want to wake you up. You need your rest."

"No." John answered. "You feel anxious and wanted to be close. You also didn't want to talk to me."

Sheepishly, Cameron punched her husband lightly before pulling him on his back and slipping his left arm around her. Cameron draped her left leg over John's, intertwining her foot between his legs. Shifting to get comfortable, Cameron brushed her hair from her face as she rested her head on John's left shoulder. A sharp intake of breath told Cameron John was waiting for her to run the fingers of her left hand across his bare chest for a few seconds, taking his vital signs. A practice he hated but had given up complaining about years ago.

Cameron thought better of engaging in the ritual for a second before giving in to her compulsion. John waited until Cameron shifted her arm, allowing her to clutch tightly to her husband, indicating the irritating to him ritual was completed.

He felt Cameron's body relax. Smiling at the strangeness of Cameron's latest unconscious accomplishment, learning to relax her cyborg body, John lightly brushed the fingers of his left hand across the top of Cameron's scalp. Her response was pleasant. To John it seemed as if Cameron was purring like a contented cat, that the gentle sensation she experienced when he rubbed her scalp made his wife melt, her body conforming even more with his.

"You have to understand, Cameron," John whispered, Savannah's advice running through his mind. "There has to be a balance. I need you. Not just to protect me or serve as the second in command of TechChom. John Connor, the husband, not the General, needs his wife, Cameron."

Pride and stubbornness made John pause. He forced the tightness in his throat to pass and continued whispering softly to his wife. "I get so angry when you just go off like you did. The thought of you being terminated terrifies me. As much as the thought of me being terminated terrifies you."

Cameron gave no outward sign of acknowledgement she'd heard John. Knowing the opposite was true, John remained calm and continued talking.

"I also know, and accept the fact you feel compelled to protect me. That the compulsion to do so is overwhelming for you."

"I have to protect you," Cameron stated firmly. "It's not open for discussion."

She listened to her husband sigh, fighting to retain control of his emotions. Cameron wanted the issue to be resolved. Conflict didn't bother Cameron in the slightest. Except when it was with a family member. Conflict with John was almost unbearable for Cameron.

"I agree," John answered. Relief swept through Cameron. Her husband had come to his senses.

He continued. "What is open for discussion is how you go about performing that obligation."

Cameron raised her head and opened her mouth to protest only for John to lightly lay his forefinger across her lips, silencing her before she could speak.

"We live in a messed up world. I will concede there are times you must act as you did."

Cameron closed her mouth and watched her husband intently.

"And there are times when that behavior is totally unacceptable."

The words struck a nerve, causing Cameron to sit up and glare at John with disapproval.

"Things aren't like they were years ago," John reminded Cameron. "We live in a city-state. For the most part, TechCom City is safe."

"Not safe enough to prevent what happened to Sarah. She could have died. You could have been infected as well."

"Yes," John conceded. "You're right. But I didn't and mom is tough to kill."

John carefully disengaged himself from his wife and sat up. Taking her chin in his hand, he leaned close and kissed her. "I cannot lose you. Not to some fight in the Wastelands where you are alone and vulnerable. Just like you cant lose me to some act of terrorism."

Resting his finger on Cameron's lips a second time, John continued. "I remember what happened after the assassination attempt. You scared all of us."

"You scared me," Cameron protested, her voice cracking slightly to illustrate the powerful emotions the memory invoked in her.

"The fact is," John continued, "we live in dangerous times. I cannot step away from leading TechCom. Not now and not anytime in the foreseeable future. There's too much to do and it's my responsibility."

"That is why I have to protect you," Cameron insisted.

"I know," was John's soothing reply. "It's also why we're going to compromise. You need to protect me. I need you to be alive." John reached behind Cameron's head and gently pulled her face closer.

"I have to have my wife, my best friend, lover, and second in command by my side. Hailey needs her mother. Mom needs to know you're going to be around to take care of the family, which just keeps getting bigger. Do you understand?"

Cameron nodded.

"So, there will be no rushing off in the Wastelands by yourself." John held up his finger and raised his brows to head off Cameron's outburst. "If, and only if, that is the best solution to a given situation, I won't stop you. But, we will discuss it before you risk your life like that."

Cameron frowned as she squeezed her lips together to form a pout.

"I don't like this."

"I don't either. But if I have to live with the terror something could happen to my wife, then you can deal with the fact you're going to report to me first and we're going to talk about the situation BEFORE you risk your life."

"That's hardly a compromise," Cameron complained. "You'll just say no."

"I've ordered you into combat how many times?" John retorted. "Don't answer," he snapped. "That was a rhetorical question. I don't need the actual number."

Frowning still, Cameron considered giving her husband the exact number regardless before deciding better of it.

"Promise," John commanded.

Sensing John was going to be stubborn, Cameron nodded in the affirmative.

"I'm going to hold you to that promise."

John lied back down, holding his left arm up in a welcoming manner. Sensing the discussion, such that it had been, was over and John had made a decision she had to comply with, Cameron was quick to resume the couple's intertwined sleeping position.

"I don't like this," Cameron protested, determined to make her point one final time.

"Neither do I, which means it's a good compromise. Neither party is completely happy."

It only took a few minutes for John to slip into a peaceful sleep, leaving Cameron to stew about their impasse. Cameron's logic functions obtained the upper hand, giving her peace with the situation. In fact, the cyborg felt irritated with herself. John's stubbornness in regards to the issue was due to how much he loved her, how much he depended on Cameron. That fact was immanently reassuring to her. He'd also said they would discuss the situation before a decision was made.

Her husband had heard her. John had recognized and acknowledged Cameron's fears and her need to protect. She on the other hand had not recognized her husband's needs and wants.

Shutting down her operating systems, Cameron decided it was a good compromise. Tomorrow or the next day, Cameron might even tell John that fact.


	17. Chapter 17

It sickened John to watch Cameron methodically abuse a prisoner and extract information. Each blow she struck chipped away a piece of John's soul. The alternative of course, was to allow members of TechCom to die as a result of bad intel, or worse, no intel at all. That Cameron was no longer completely immune to the horrors of her actions just made the entire process harder for John to watch.

While rare, there had been times Cameron had clung to John in the privacy of their quarters and whispered to him the horror she felt over the cruelty meted out to a prisoner. Cameron had even suffered over taking revenge on the off-spring of her eternal nemesis, the bitch whore Riley.

"He's not going to break," Cameron monotoned.

John winced at his wife's words. The General found it within to speak, "There's a lot more you can do to extract information."

"He's willing to die," Cameron said, turning to look at her husband. Tilting her head, Cameron thought for a second before turning to look at Antoine again.

"I have interrogated Greys who were loyal to their units because giving up information would lead to the deaths of other Greys. I have seen the remains of TechCom prisoners who died without giving up intel that would have placed their units at risk, metal, human, or hybrid. I have seen a few Greys from rogue units who were loyal to a Terminator who possessed free will and treated the human soldiers with a modicum of decency. I have never seen a human be loyal to a Skynet when safely held in the custody of a resistance unit or TechCom."

Nodding in agreement, John considered what would motivate a man to suffer pain when he could make it stop with a few words.

"He's protecting someone," John muttered.

"A female," Cameron said firmly. "I suspect the female in question is within our midst. Either a traitor or a plant who came in as a liberated concentration camp prisoner or Tunnel Rat."

"Why would a plant help Skynet once they were safe within our territory?"

"The Queen acted irrationally," Cameron answered. "The Riley spawn could have come clean and been allowed to live as legal aliens within our community. There have been other traitors. The followers of FutureTech who tried to kill Sarah."

Cameron shrugged. "Humans do strange things that are illogical." She smiled at her husband in a teasing manner. "I've done things that are illogical for a terminator."

"True," John replied. He watched as a fit of coughing racked Antoine. "We need to clean him up, get him some medical treatment."

"No," Cameron responded. "I want him to look like this for a few hours more. He gave up the fact his command is from the St. Louis Skynet region. I want a personnel search done on all females from the mid-west and Great Plains living within our territory."

"A girlfriend, a wife perhaps?"

"No." Cameron turned to leave, opening the door of the observation room without looking back. "The mother of his child. A child held prisoner by Skynet."

* * *

Footsteps is the corridor warned the Connors of an impending arrival. Cameron tilted her head slightly to listen.

"It's Agent Ellison."

The door to the observation room opened and a weary Ellison entered, his expression grim.

"I don't see how I missed it," he apologized.

"I missed it too," Cameron told the TechCom Chief of Security. "I should have predicted this exact scenario. Had I done so, Sarah would still have all of her lung and my John would never have been placed at risk."

Ellison extended his arm towards John, a thin, scuffed green file folder grasped tightly in his hand.

"Jennifer Barstow. Works in the Engineering. Her medical exam revealed stretch marks from carrying a child. When asked about her child, Barstow never responded. Medical simply assumed the child, like so many others, had died at the hands of Skynet or in the Wastelands."

"She would have had access to the ventilation systems," John mumbled. "Send for her."

"Bartow is in holding cell four," Ellison whispered. "This is my fault, John."

"Knock it off," John snapped. "Not even Cameron picked up on this. Nobody is to blame." John stepped close to Ellison, placing his right hand on the man's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "You've saved too many lives to do this to yourself. This is not your fault. It's the fault of the Skynet who controls these people."

"Bring this Barstow to the observation room," Cameron ordered Ellison. "I'm ending this now."

* * *

"You monster," Barstow screamed. "What have you done to my husband?"

Cameron watched impassively as a pair of T-600s restrained the frail looking Bartow. From examining the woman's records, Cameron had learned Barstow had been living in TechCom for four months and gained seventeen pounds during that time. Straggly blonde hair, sunken cheeks, and scraggly teeth did not hide the fact Jennifer Bartow had once been an attractive woman.

Stepping close to Barstow, Cameron flashed her red optics while titling her head. Startled, Bartow stopped straining against the grasp of her guards and seemed to wilt before Cameron's intimidating presence.

"I was protecting my family," Cameron informed the woman. "The same thing your husband has been doing."

Uncontrollable sobs poured forth from the frail woman.

"Your Antoine gave nothing away. You should be very proud of your husband. He loves you and your child very much."

"But he broke," Barstow shouted. "You broke him!"

"On the contrary," Cameron replied. "It was his willingness to die that gave you away. The only logical explanation, when all other possibilities were eliminated, was your husband was protecting you. That by itself would not have been enough to keep him from talking. It could only mean it was a child belonging to the two of you."

Barstow blinked twice and then spit at Cameron, missing the cyborg who dodged the spittle with ease.

"How many children did you lose?"

"What?" The tortured woman stared at Cameron with the hatred only a mother could feel.

"To withstand what he did, Antoine had to be protecting the last of your children."

Moving between the two women, John spoke softly. "Don't argue with her. You shouldn't provoke my wife. You were sent here to kill me. My mother nearly died. To my wife, that act of treason is enough for her to snuff the life out of you and your husband in the blink of an eye."

"Just kill me then," Barstow shouted. "Skynet will kill my son when he learns I failed. Just kill me."


	18. Chapter 18

"How can you live with that monster?"

John looked up from his papers and pushed his reading glasses up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and squinted at the man lying on the bed.

"How?" the voice rasped a second time.

"You really have to ask," John replied.

Antoine grimaced in pain. "You call it your wife. Do you actually sleep with it?"

John pulled his glass back down on his nose and glanced at the tablet in his lap. "In every sense, the word "sleep" means," he replied. "Furthermore, do not refer to my wife as an it. Cameron is a person. She identifies as a female."

"It just looks female," Antoine mumbled.

"I'm not going to warn you again. My wife is not an it."

Antoine remained silent for several minutes before speaking again.

"Do you love…her?"

John looked up, his gazed fixed on a spot on the hospital room. "I would not be alive were it not for Cameron." He glanced at Antoine. "Even if my body was still functioning, I wouldn't be," he paused before continuing, "alive. So, yes, I love Cameron."

The two men passed the time in silence, both lost to their own thoughts. John stirred himself and stood up, placing his tablet in his backpack.

"When Cameron interrogated you, it sickened her," John informed Antoine. "In the past, years ago, before Judgment Day, it wouldn't have bothered Cameron. Sometimes it still doesn't."

"Then what's changed," Antoine gasped, coughing. "From my perspective, it hurt me a lot more than it hurt…your wife."

John smiled sadly. "Cameron figured out before anyone else why you wouldn't talk. She put a halt to it. I would have continued."

Antoine nodded, vaguely comprehending what John had told him.

"Cameron appreciated devotion to another individual."

"Don't make me laugh, General. I don't think that's possible for a machine."

John let out a sigh, tired of having to explain things about Cameron. "Antoine, just as you were willing to die to protect your wife and son, Cameron would do the same. She would give her life, experience any humiliation imaginable, or suffer the unimaginable if it meant I was alive and safe. In fact, Cameron has done that too many times for me to count."

"How nice."

"Be respectful. Cameron is a loving wife. She's a good mother."

"You forgot a great friend," Antoine added sarcastically.

"Actually," John snapped, "Cameron is just that. She's very loyal to the few friends she has."

Picking up his backpack, John reached for the door. "You have one more chance, Antoine. We are going to recon the St. Louis area. If you help, we'll do everything we can to get your son out alive. If you don't," John shrugged. "Collateral damage happens."

* * *

Cameron's unyielding stare unnerved Barstow. "Just kill me!"

"No. That would serve no purpose."

"I did it! I tried to kill your husband! I would do it again! Kill me! Kill me now!"

Barstow sobbed uncontrollably. Cameron watched impassively, the display of emotion having no bearing on the cyborg's demeanor.

"Were it not for your son, I would have already interrogated you, extracted all possible information, and handed you over to a tribunal for trial and execution."

"Why waste the time," an exhausted Barstow sobbed. "Just break my neck."

Cameron waited for fifteen minutes to pass, allowing Barstow to fall silent before speaking.

"I will never forget your attempt to murder my husband. Not will I ever forget what you did to Sarah Connor," Cameron told Barstow bluntly. She paused, softening her voice, "but I am a mother too, Jennifer. So a tribunal will decide your fate, not me."

Barstow fell asleep. Cameron simply sat and watched without moving, maintaining her fixed gaze on the sleeping prisoner.

* * *

"You what?" Derek said in disbelief. "You are going to leave it up to a tribunal? That woman nearly killed my wife, and you're didn't terminate her?"

"She had her reasons," Cameron replied.

Everyone in the bunker flinched except Cameron as Derek began throwing every object he could get his hands on across the room.

His rage temporarily spent, Derek stood panting. Sarah stood up and approached Derek. Thrusting his right arm out to stop Sarah, Derek glared hatefully at Cameron. "To think I had grown to trust you," he screamed. "You're still metal! You can't be trusted! John, you're crazy to trust it!"

John's face turned a deep red as he ground his teeth in rage. With his eyes bulging, the veins in his neck and forehead protruded. Only the crushing grip of Cameron holding on to his hand prevented John from attacking his uncle.

"Do not forget who you are addressing, Colonel Reese," John snapped.

"Oh, now you're the big, bad General John Connor, now," Derek taunted. "Sitting here all safe in your command bunker with your pet metal holding your hand while my wife still has trouble breathing."

John glanced at the two menacing T-888s standing watch by the entrance. "Escort Colonel Reese to his quarters. Confine him there. Nobody is to enter without written orders from me." John stood up and approached his uncle. Standing toe-to-toe, John growled his final order to the two M.P.s. "That includes Sarah Connor."

"How could you, John? How could you humiliate Derek like that?"

"Mom, you need to calm down," John answered tersely.

"Calm down? This Barstow almost killed me. She meant to kill you." Sarah strode over to Cameron and glared at her daughter-in-law. "What's wrong with you, Tin Miss? Got a loose chip? Need to run a diagnostic routine? How could you react like this?"

"Mom, that's enough!" John roared. "I can have you put under arrest as well!"

Mouth open in shock, Sarah stood speechless.

"Don't blame John, Sarah. I influenced his decision to send Barstow before a tribunal."

"Hush, Cameron," John ordered.

"I will NOT have Derek talk to or about Cameron like he just did, to my face, behind my back, or in private. I will not tolerate it, family or not."

"He's my husband," Sarah protested.

"He's my uncle," John shot back. "Cameron's my wife, or have you forgotten?"

"What has gotten into you, John?"

"Not a thing, Sarah Connor," John replied with chilling coldness. "Everyone seems to have forgotten the chain of command."

Speechless, Sarah stood silently, shocked by the change in her son that had taken place before her eyes.

Turning on his heel, John left the command bunker, showing his mother his back.

"Sarah, this is my fault," Cameron said softly. "Barstow has a child. That's why she did it."

Sarah stared at the open door, her own face turning red with rage. "She has a child, does she? So that makes trying to kill John okay?"

Cameron's voice drifted across the room as if it were disembodied. "You killed to protect John. Not just terminators, but Greys, humans who did not know they were a threat to humanity. How many Sarah? Do you even know?"

Disbelief whitened Sarah's countenance as she turned to stare at Cameron. "You see, Sarah, I know exactly how many I have killed to protect my John. Many were guilty and deserved it. But there were many who simply had no choice. There were even some who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." Cameron paused before carefully articulating her next words. "I even know how many I have killed as collateral damage, Sarah."

Cautiously, Cameron approached the older woman and took Sarah's hands in her own. "She has a son, Sarah. Just like you do."

"So you couldn't terminate her?"

Cameron shook her head; tears running uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Something's wrong with me Sarah," Cameron blurted out. "I am so confused. All I can see are images of Hailey when she was little. My CPU keeps pulling them up and displaying them in my HUD. Oh, God help me. Sarah, I understand why Barstow did it."

Confused, shocked even, Sarah watched Cameron cry uncontrollably. Concern tempered the older woman's rage. Angry with Tin Miss or not, Cameron was John's wife and something was wrong. Swallowing the acid burbling up her esophagus, Sarah managed to contain her temper and her tongue.

"What are you trying to say, Cameron?"

"Sarah, something's wrong with me! I didn't terminate Barstow and I should have. It is the wisest course of action to protect my John."

"Did John order you not to?"

"No, Sarah. It was my idea to hand Barstow over for trial."

Sarah frowned, placing her hands on Cameron's shoulders.

"Look at me, Tin Miss."

Cameron made eye contact, staring directly into Sarah's eyes.

"Did John argue with you about this?"

"No, Sarah," Cameron sobbed. "John just smiled and then he hugged me. He told me he was proud of me, that he couldn't wait to tell Father Hidalgo."

Sarah said nothing as her mind raced. The older woman's neck muscles tensed, as she grew aware Cameron wanted, needed for Sarah to explain away the confusion the cyborg felt.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Cameron," Sarah finally admitted. "You're just confused, that's all."


	19. Chapter 19

It nearly broke Hailey's heart to see her mother lying alone in bed. Cameron's back faced the entrance to the bedroom as it always did. What was different was the manner in which Cameron lay on the bed, her feet drawn up almost to her knees and her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. Hailey knew without seeing her mother's face that Cameron's gaze was fixed on a point on the wall.

Glancing at Ruth first, Hailey made a point to make noise as she entered her parent's sanctuary. Following close behind, Ruth watched Cameron intently; hoping the TOK-715 she so admired would not do anything rash, requiring the tiny T-1000 to act.

"Mom, I'm back from Long Patrol."

Cameron failed to respond in any way.

"Mom, you're scaring me," Hailey told the motionless terminatress. Surrendering to her impulsive nature, Hailey dove over her mother, landing on her father's side of the bed. Forced to respond, Cameron only blinked at her child.

"Mom, seriously," Hailey protested. "Ruth is getting married in one week! You have to get fitted for your dress! Miss Katherine is about to have a cow because you haven't come for the final fitting."

"Weaver knows my figure, body mass, and shape has not changed since the measurements were taken," Cameron mumbled. "My presence is not needed for the dress to be completed."

"Mom, you always said I had to be polite, follow the appropriate social customs, and remember the Connor family has to set an example," Hailey complained. Rolling her eyes for effect in an effort to irritate her mother, Hailey continued to vent. "So now, right when I'm about to get my first promotion, you up and start setting a bad example."

The mention of a promotion seemed to break through Cameron's fugue, causing the mother to lift her head. Instinctively, Cameron's hand left hand shot out to touch Hailey and take her human daughter's vital signs.

"You're blood pressure is elevated," Cameron monotoned.

"Well, duh," Hailey exclaimed. "I get back from Long Patrol, where I led my squad in a skirmish for the first time, and everyone tells me something's wrong with my mother. Of course, I'm just a little stressed out!"

Hearing the mention of a skirmish, Cameron sat up right and began a careful inspection of Hailey.

"The bandages are on my back," Hailey volunteered.

"You were wounded," Cameron stated flatly.

"It's nothing, Mom," Hailey whined. "Some shrapnel. Don't say anything to the Old Man, promise! He'll freak out and before I can order him not to the old T-600 will be beyond the perimeter looking for whoever did this so he can terminate them."

"The individual responsible must be terminated," Cameron answered forcefully.

"Handled it myself," Hailey informed her mother. "Mortar crew. Wearing insignia I've never seen before. Has these two leaning towers on it."

"St. Louis," Cameron informed Hailey. "The Arch of St. Louis. The insignia represents what remains after Judgment Day."

Hailey shrugged off her mother's explanation.

"What is up with you, Mom? Grandma is all upset and won't talk to Dad or Derek, which is not helping things between Dad and Derek. And just what did Derek do to make Dad put him under house arrest?"

Ruth shook her head vigorously no in a vain effort to sidetrack Hailey.

"Mom, seriously, what's going on? I get back with important intel and good news for the family and nobody's paying any attention to me," the drama queen complained. "Ruth's not even faking like she's interested."

"I couldn't terminate the spy who tried to kill your father and sickened Sarah," Cameron monotoned. "Derek is furious with me and lost his temper. He said things he hasn't said since before your father and I married."

The mouth of the impetuous Hailey fell open is shock, the blood draining from her rosy cheeks.

"Mom? Has Miss Savannah given you a complete diagnostic physical?"

"Yes," Cameron answered. "It's a software issue, I think. I seem to have written some code that is causing the problem. I have identified it but your father ordered me not to delete it."

"Has Dad lost his mind too?" Hailey looked at Ruth for reassurance only for Ruth to shrug. "Mom, Dad knows that string of code violates your purpose." Hailey got off the bed and, hands on hips, stood looking down at her mother. "Ruth, watch mom. I'm going to go set Dad straight. Mom has to delete the code."

"No," Cameron said sharply. "Your father is very proud of this development. He believes I have developed the ability to feel true empathy. If I have done so, other terminators will in time do the same. I must learn to find the balance between empathy and fulfilling my purpose."

Puzzled and more than a little angry with her father, Hailey shook her head in disgust. "Mom, you haven't acted like this since Dad nearly died at the hands of that assassin. I'm talking to Dad about this."

"You are incorrect." Cameron monotoned, lying back down on the bed. "This is different. Your father's life was not at risk when I made the decision not to terminate. I have no desire to be terminated. I am simply very confused and many of my systems are crashing as a result."

"Mom, this is not the same as you choosing not to terminate Dad every 24-hour time cycle. That's your free will overriding your baseline Skynet programming. This is a choice that is in direct conflict with your purpose, protecting Dad."

"I'll be okay," Cameron protested. "Please, Hailey, do not make things worse by arguing with your father."

"Mom, it's not okay. Dad needs to do something about this."

"I would rather you make your father come to his senses and end the conflict with Derek. That is not helping my processing issues. I need for our family to not be in conflict with each other." Cameron paused for a second. "Correction, to not be in more conflict than is normal."

xxxxxxxx

"Dad, this is bull."

"Watch it, Sergeant," John answered without looking up. "It would be a shame for you to lose that stripe before you can even sew it on."

"Dad, I come home and Mom is all messed up. She didn't even scan me until after I mentioned the promotion."

John's head snapped up. "She didn't scan you right away?"

"See, Dad! That's what I've been trying to get you to understand, Mom's really broken. It's freaking me out!"

"That's wonderful," John exclaimed. "She's adapting even more, gaining more control over her compulsions!"

"Have you lost your mind, Dad? It's not normal for Mom to not scan me the instant she sees me, especially after I've been on a patrol. I had to tell Mom I'd been wounded."

John stood up and came from behind his desk and hugged his daughter tightly. "It will be okay, I promise, Hailey. Your mom is developing really rapidly. She's able to separate her compulsions out now and control them to a limited degree."

The speed with which her mother's scowl appeared on Hailey's face amused John. "You are so your mother's daughter," he laughed. "I promise you, the controlling, paranoid, compulsive Cameron is still alive and well. She's just got the ability to control it better now."

Hailey squirmed free of her Dad's bear hug. "Yeah, well, it's freaking me out, Dad! I fully expected to be inspected, scanned, and examined down to the last square millimeter when I get home, and Mom didn't do that."

"Hailey, your mom's really confused at the moment. This development is very unsettling to you, imagine how your mother feels about all this?" John hugged Hailey a second time. "Savannah says physically everything is fine with your mother. Weaver says she's experienced this type of confusion twice but for different issues."

Hailey frowned at her father, giving him her best accusatory expression in the process. "You're sure Mom's going to be okay?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then you need to go and calm Derek down. That's upsetting mom, too. And she's worried about Grandma being all out of sorts."

Freeing herself a second time, Hailey moved out of her father's range to hug her. "That would make Mom feel better and I'd like to be able to see my grandparents and have them be all happy about my news."

A heavy sigh escaped from Hailey's father.

"I guess there's no avoiding this any longer."


End file.
